Lara Croft: Tomb Raider: The Emerald Key
by L'ange de Tenebre
Summary: Lara Croft has finally decided to retire from tomb raiding forever! But what will happen when a certain Demon Hunter returns, ready for a new adventure? LC.KT CH 13 IS UP! Please R&R!
1. From the Ashes

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the rights to Lara Croft, Bryce, Hillary, Kurtis, or any of the other characters that might happen to show up. Nor do I own the Aston Martin. M. St. Louis, however, is a character of my own invention.

A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed last time - you all are très awesome! Keep up the reviews and I'll keep writing.

Stormy gray clouds hovered above the countryside, steadily threatening rain. Every now and then a few droplets would fall, splattering onto the windshield of the narrow lane's only inhabitant. Lara Croft grinned mischievously as she put her shimmering new Aston Martin through its paces. She drove the car hard into a corner and sped out of it, marveling at the car's excellent handling. She was immersed so deeply in her drive, that she almost didn't hear her mobile phone ringing. She glanced once at the caller ID and saw that it was from home.

"Lara, I suggest that wherever you are you head home immediately," her butler, Hillary, said very quickly. "There's a French detective here who'd like to speak to you."

She sighed deeply. "They've already cleared me, what do they want now?" she asked over the roar of a passing motorbike.

"I don't know, he wouldn't tell me anything except that it's quite important." he told her.

"All right, tell him to sit still and I'll be there in fifteen minutes." Lara told him, slamming on the brakes and purposely letting the car go into a spin so that she ended up facing the opposite direction.

She closed the phone and tossed it onto the leather seat beside her, floored the accelerator, and headed as fast as she could back towards her home.

True to her word, Lara sped up the driveway of Croft Manor ten minutes later. As she drew nearer to the mansion a gleaming black Mercedes C-Class Saloon parked just outside of the large oak front doors came into view. Lara headed off towards the open multi-car garage and pulled in, parking the silver V12 Vanquish and hopping out. She walked quickly to the door on the far side of the room, jogged up the stone steps, and came out just near the Control Center.

"Mademoiselle Croft," said the Frenchman. He was a handsome man, probably in his late twenties to early thirties, with dark brown hair and emerald green eyes. "Je m'appelle Jean-Marc St. Louis et je suis un détective pour la police parisienne."

"Bonjour," said Lara. "Parlez vous anglais?"

The detective smiled at her. "Yes, sorry. I keep forgetting that I am not in France."

"It's perfectly all right, but I'm afraid that my French isn't quite up to par these days. Now then, I've heard that you'd like to interrogate me?" said Lara, smiling back and gesturing towards the living room.

Detective St. Louis agreed with an inclination of his head and followed her into the room. They took seats opposite each other with an intricately carved coffee table in between them. Hillary bustled out of the kitchen a moment later carrying a silver tray laden with cups of tea and a plate of biscuits. He smiled at Lara as he set it on the table and then hurried off. Lara reached for her cup of tea and a biscuit, which she dunked before eating it.

"Mademoiselle Croft, since you have been cleared, we have had very few leads and only one or two real suspects in the Monstrum killings. However, I have received some new information from a colleague in Prague. He says that there has been a new attack and the _Modus Operandi_ matches that of the Monstrum. He believes it is the work of this man, an American. I was wondering if you could furnish some information that would be quite useful in our investigation." said St. Louis, handing Lara a composite sketch.

Lara took the paper from him and looked down at into an all too familiar face. The man had a muscular build, dark brown hair, and crystal clear blue eyes. His name was Kurtis Trent.

"I'm sorry to rain on your parade, but Kurtis Trent is dead. He can't possibly be the killer." she told him. _And that's the truth,_ she added firmly to herself.

The detective cleared his throat. "And how do you know Monsieur Trent?"

"He was a colleague of mine, and a friend." said Lara, adding a pained note to her voice for drama.

He jotted down a few words on his notepad. "I am truly sorry for the death of your friends, Mademoiselle Croft. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must be going."

They both stood up and Lara led him to the door.

"Thank you for your, uh, cooperation, mademoiselle." said St. Louis.

Lara looked up to notice that the detective's sparkling green eyes had landed not on her face, but on her chest.

"Anytime. Bonne chance avec votre recherche." she told him, showing him to the door.

_Good for nothing detectives_, Lara found herself thinking as she grabbed another biscuit off of the platter and set off to her study. She glared around at the shelves, pulled down a book, and walked to her desk. Lara fell into the chair and put her feet up on the cluttered surface, nearly bringing them down on the keyboard of her laptop. She opened her book - Caves of God - and thumbed to the page where she'd last left her marker. She read in complete silence for a few minutes before looking up to see the manor's resident tech geek, Bryce, standing in the doorway.

"Hi Lara. Nice drive?" he asked her, and continued before she could answer. "Have you got a moment or two, maybe ten to spare?"

She smiled. "For you, Bryce, I have nothing but spare minutes."

"Good then. Come on."

Lara put the marker back in her book and placed it on a stack of folders, stood up, and followed Bryce out to the control center. He plopped down into his swivel chair and wheeled around so that he was facing one of many flat screen computer monitors.

"See those guns over there?" he asked, gesturing with one hand towards a counter even more cluttered than the desk in Lara's study.

She picked them up and spun them around, looked at them for a few moments, and then placed them back on the counter. "All right, I give up. What've you done to them?"

Bryce spun back around, smiled, and pointed to the monitors. One screen showed a blue print for the .45 caliber Colt handgun, the one beside it, a newly loaded video showing a digital person holding two guns and firing them at two underwater targets at least 50 feet away - all four bullets fired hit their marks, leaving gigantic holes in each target.

"They'll work above water, too," said Bryce. "with better accuracy than your old underwater ones."

"Impressive," said Lara. "But if I know you, that's how they're _supposed _to work, not necessarily how they _will_ work."

"Well, we won't know how they work until you try them, now will we?" he said.

She quirked a smile. "And I also suppose that it's better to test them in a controlled environment and not in a life or death situation, correct?"

He nodded. Lara sighed and put the guns down on the counter and went upstairs to change. She came back down a few minutes later in her swimsuit - a black two-piece with several pockets and holsters for various weapons and small artifacts - and her holsters. She picked up the two shiny, silver guns and spun them around once more before putting them in the holsters and climbing up onto her diving platform. She took a deep breath and swan dived into the pool, feeling the cool water rush over her skin.

She surfaced a few seconds later, gave Bryce the go signal, and took a last, deep breath. She drew the guns as she dove back down, looking around for any sign of a target. The first one popped up about nine yards from her and Lara took aim and fired - both of her bullets hit it dead on. She whirled around and spotted another target at the opposite side of the pool. Again, she aimed and fired. She came up for air with a light smile on her face, fully satisfied that both bullets had again found their target. She dove one final time and saw the last target directly below her. She emptied four rounds into the target and watched as it nearly exploded on impact.

"Incredible," said Bryce as Lara climbed from the pool and handed him the guns. "Absolutely amazing."

"My shooting or the guns?" asked Lara as she toweled herself off.

"These guns!" said Bryce. "They're marvelous! If I didn't work for you, I'd have to market these, you know. And that reminds me, do I get a raise for this?"

Lara laughed softly. "Only if you stop being such a pain in my arse."

Bryce's jaw dropped and he turned to her, looking deeply hurt. Lara smiled at him again in return and winked, starting towards the stairs and looking forward to a nice, long shower.

Lara emerged from the shower twenty minutes later, her current state matching the weather outside. She dried off in a hurry and dressed in a pair of khakis, an army green t-shirt, and her boots. She tied her dark, sopping wet hair into a braid and headed back to her study.

Her book was lying forgotten on the same pile of folders from earlier and she didn't feel much like picking it up at the moment. She hadn't felt herself since her conversation with St. Louis. A part of her kept traveling back to Prague, back to the Strahov, and to Kurtis... She slid open the top drawer of her desk and pulled out the metal disk, Kurtis's blade. She had picked it up on her way out of the Strahov after she'd found it lying in a puddle of blood. She looked at it for a long moment before replacing it in the drawer and shutting it away again.

She took a deep breath and leaned forward, swept a pile of papers to a far corner with her hand, and thumped her elbows hard onto the wooden surface. Lara looked around at the items that littered it - a picture of her parents and one of Alex West, a notepad with a few messages written on it, and her laptop with an open message. Her eyes darted back to the screen - there was in instant message bearing the words "Hi Lara". She looked at the screen name -Phoenix

_Who are you?_ She typed to the mystery person.

She waited a moment for a response.

_I guess you'd call me a ghost._ The person responded.

And then it dawned on her - _Kurtis?_ she asked.

A few moments passed with no response. She asked if he was still there but was greeted with a pop-up saying that the person that she was trying to contact was no longer available.

"Damn it," she said aloud, pounding her fist onto the desk so that the picture frames rattled and the stack of folders slid.

_It's impossible,_ she told herself. _He's dead, I'm just imagining this_. And with that, she stood up and swept from the study towards the kitchen for a sandwich.

Lara entered the kitchen to find Bryce with his head buried in the fridge. He came out upon hearing her footsteps, his arms laden with all of the makings of a proper sandwich. Lara smiled and sat down at the counter without a word and began to make herself one. When she was done, she put it on a plate and headed back to her study, half hoping to see another message from the mystery person on the computer screen.

She put down her plate - the sandwich now half-eaten - and looked around. Something was wrong, she could feel it. She saw the cause of the disturbance almost immediately - her desk was different. She looked around and saw to her surprise, that the top drawer, the one that housed the weapon, had been opened and it was now missing. She stepped back a few inches and felt a warm breathe on her neck.

"I thought you were dead," she said without a hint of surprise or nervousness in her voice.

The man behind her let out a short laugh. "So did I."

Sorry that it's still kind of short, but ch. 2 will be longer, I promise!


	2. Retired

**Ok, here it is, as promised - Chapter 2. Please R&R if you want me to keep writing :)**

Lara stood perfectly still, rooted to the spot. _This isn't possible, it's got to be a trap_, she told herself, set and determined not to turn around. An icy chill coursed through her as he brushed his hand along her bare arm and brought it to rest on her hip. A split second later the cold blade of her knife was pressed against her throat.

"You seem to have quite the obsession with disarming me," said Lara, her voice calm.

"Well women with weapons aren't usually a turn on for me." he told her almost maliciously.

The blade lowered and Lara spun around to find herself face to face with Kurtis Trent. His dark hair was wet from the rain outside and falling into his eyes, the familiar smirk spreading across his handsome face. She stared at him for a moment before confirming that it really was him.

"I can't believe you're alive," she said smiling and moving a strand of hair out of his face to reveal a fresh scar just above his left eyebrow.

Lara meant to ask how he had managed to survive, but before she knew what she was doing, she had fallen into his arms. He wrapped them around her, enveloping her in a tight hug.

"Hey, Lara," said a familiar voice. "Lara?"

She turned slightly to see Bryce standing in the doorway again, this time with a clipboard. He turned around before she could say anything and Lara could've sworn she'd heard him mutter the words "I don't even want to know," under his breath as he left.

Kurtis moved away. "Sorry," he said.

"You know, most men who hold me hostage in my own house usually end up in the morgue." Lara told him with a smile.

"Then I guess I'll consider myself lucky." he replied.

She looked at him quizzically for a second before speaking. "Why are you here, Kurtis?"

He took off his pack and swung it onto the desk with a thud. He undid the fastening on it and pulled out two closed cardboard tubes, a jewel case, a laptop, and a thick, leather bound book with symbols on the cover that Lara could not read. She looked at him curiously as he laid the things out before her.

"Because I need your help." he said.

Lara looked straight into his eyes and remembered the promise that she had made to herself before the circumstances had changed. She'd left Africa with the promise that she'd not endanger anyone else, that she'd not go on anymore stupid adventures. _So much for that idea_, she told herself as she thought of the Petrakis and Terry. _If it weren't for me, Gus, Nicholas, and Jimmy would all be alive and well and Terry would still be stuck in some jail cell instead of dead_, she thought. _But if it weren't for me, there would be _no one _left, _she reassured herself, thinking of the chilling consequences had she not stopped Reiss from opening Pandora's Box.

"I'm retired." she told him after a long moment of thought.

"Then I'm sorry to disturb your retirement, Lady Croft, but there's something I've got to tell you. As I was leaving the Strahov, I saw you. Only, it wasn't _really_ you. It was Karel." he told her. "You, I mean Karel, tried to finish me off. As soon as my bullets hit, I realized that it couldn't possibly be you - You didn't die. You might not think this is of any great importance, but it is. Karel isn't dead, Lara. I don't know how the son of a bitch did it, but he survived.

"And now I need your help. I'm the last member of the Lux Veritatis and it's my sworn duty to destroy the Nephilim. To destroy Karel. I'm here because I can't do this alone, that would be suicide. I found these scrolls" - he gestured to the tubes - "in the Louvre, in that Carvier woman's office. I was actually pretty surprised that _you_ didn't find them."

"I was in a bit of a hurry," said Lara. "You know, I was trying to get the painting before anyone else?"

He laughed. "Well you did. At any rate, back to the scrolls. They're written in the language of the Lux Veritatis, which I know, but they date so far back that some of the symbols have been modified or are unreadable. I scanned them and analyzed them using a database of symbols that I created, hoping that I could at least get a partial hit from that, sort of like the cops analyzing fingerprints."

"Well, I'm impressed." said Lara, who was only slightly rattled by the fact that Karel had taken on her form. "But I can't help you. I'm not into the life anymore. I've seen far too many friends die and I've almost been killed more than a few times. Now, him," - she gestured to the picture of Alex - "would be more than willing to help as long as you've got the cash to offer him."

Kurtis sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Look, I'm sorry to have to ask you, but I'm no tomb raider. I can't do this on my own, Croft, and you know it. The only thing I have to offer if we succeed is the fact that the world will be safe and Karel will be gone."

Lara crossed her arms in frustration. She knew that he was right, that she had to do this, but another part of her scolded her for even considering it. _This will be the last one,_ she stated firmly to herself. _And then I can enjoy my nice, quiet, retirement._

"Just to inform you, I'm not normally swayed this easily, but I'll help." She answered.

_Bullshit, you're not easily swayed - you came 'out of retirement' to go off looking for the Luna Temple and that wasn't exactly a find that could bring about the deaths of millions of people. Tired of talking to herself, Lara let the internal argument drop and let out a sigh as she crossed the room towards the door._

"Well, no point in sitting around here, now is there?" she said over her shoulder and exiting.

A few moments later, Lara and Kurtis were sat in the control center with Bryce and Hillary - who had both now been formally introduced to the American. Bryce had uploaded the discs into his vast array of computers and was now analyzing them more thoroughly, attempting to insert pixels to the symbols in hopes of finding a match in the database.

"Have you translated the rest of the text?" asked Lara as she gazed fixedly at the screen.

"I have. Bryce, could you click that open?" said Kurtis, pointing to a folder on the screen.

Bryce did so and two files were found inside - A translation of each scroll.

"Here's the first one," said Bryce, double clicking the file name to open it.

"_The _x_ approaches from below. They will plague the earth, destroying anything in their paths. They will claim back what was denied them. Only _x _can defy them. He will find a key, glowing with the power of God, and destroy the _x_ and protect the human race. He and only He can stop them and save the world from certain destruction..."_

Lara studied it for a long while before speaking again.

"It's camouflage." She said.

Hillary and Bryce both rolled their eyes - the last time that Lara had suggest that something was camouflage she had taken to a clock with a hammer.

"Camouflage? How can you tell? What's it hiding?" asked Kurtis.

"The prophecy is important, don't get me wrong, but it's repetitive. There's something hidden in the message that the writer wants us, or more importantly, you, to find." said Lara.

"And here I thought they were just trying to get the point across." said Bryce.

They all sat in silence for a few moments longer, reading the translation and trying to work it out. Lara tried to come up with messages by moving words around, only to come to a dead end and a piece of crumpled up paper.

"Eureka!" Bryce exclaimed suddenly.

He was staring at the screen. No one could get him to speak, because at that moment his fingers began to fly across the keyboard.

"What is it?" Lara asked him.

"Give me an hour, maybe two, and I'll have whatever it is that's hiding in there." he told her with confidence. "Oh, and could someone bring me a sandwich?"

Lara patted her friend on the shoulder and stood up. She walked quickly out of the room, fully aware that the first moment she was alone, Hillary would swoop in on her to berate her for taking on another job. Sure enough, she heard footsteps just behind her as she entered the hall.

"Lara," called Hillary from behind her. "A word?"

She turned around and sighed. "Hillary,"

"Now." he told her, practically dragging her into the kitchen.

Lara folded her arms over her chest and stood, an impatient look on her face. Hillary was now standing a few feet away from her and he looked livid. She knew from the time that she and Kurtis had tracked down Bryce that he was angry with her but he had kept quiet the whole time.

"What?" she asked sharply.

"I think you know what, Lara. Why are you doing this?" he returned.

"Because I have to." she replied. "I'm sorry, but I have a conscience and I know that if I just walked away from this I wouldn't be doing the right thing."

Hillary's stance relaxed a bit and he let out a sigh. "You don't _have_ to, Lara. For all you know, you might not be able to walk away from this one."

"I can't walk away, Hillary. I can't. I don't know how to describe this. This is my life. This is my addiction." she told him, her voice dropping away towards the end to signal the end of the discussion.

And with that, she brushed past him out the door.

A cool night breeze swept a piece of stray hair into Lara's face as she sat, legs dangling, on the stone railing of her balcony. She'd been there since just after her discussion with Hillary, leaving only once to check on Bryce's progress - or lack thereof.

She tucked the strand of hair behind her ear and gazed up at the stars. She thought it was impossible that some cultures thought that they could find their destiny in them. The voice of a man that she could hardly remember came to mind. "We make our own fate - no one determines it for us," he had told her. Lara had taken these words to heart and now, more than ever, couldn't help but wonder if she'd chosen the right path. She had often considered that raiding tombs was not a suitable profession, although she did it for the thrill more so than for the money.

Thrill. Was that enough to justify her putting herself and others in danger? _No,_ she told herself. _That's not why I do this - I do this because if I don't no one else will._ At that moment, she whirled around, a knife spinning off of her fingertips. It stuck into the doorframe only inches away from Kurtis's smirking face. He wrenched it out of the wood, threw it into the air a few times while crossing the balcony, and handed it to her.

"Trouble sleeping?" he asked her.

She shook her head, wondering why she should even be asleep at this hour and checked her watch - It was 1:45am. Half of her brain was busy scolding her for throwing a knife at the man that stood before her. The other half was wishing that she'd hit him...

"There's no rest for the wicked," said Lara.

Kurtis laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. She stared idly at him, twirling the knife between her fingers. They both stayed in silence for a good two minutes before Kurtis spoke again.

"It looks like Bryce is making some progress with the scrolls," said Kurtis. "He said that he'd have a location for us by the morning."

"What did the other scroll say?" Lara asked.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. "I figured you'd ask that, so I printed it out."

Lara took the piece of paper from him and studied it for a few moments. It showed the words on the scroll on the top portion of the paper and the translation, which was basically just a description of the area where they were supposed to look, on the bottom. She read it over and over again, trying to think of a place that resembled the description. _Towering chimneys dotting vast landscapes,_ it read. Lara ran that phrase in particular through her head over and over.

"Turkey," she said suddenly. "Cappadocia, actually."

"Well, at least we have a starting point." said Kurtis.

She shook her head. "That doesn't really matter - this only gives us a region, not an exact location. Cappadocia is huge. With just this description, we could be searching for years."

"Then I guess we'll just have to wait and see what your man comes up with." he said as he swept off of the balcony and out into the hall, shutting her bedroom door behind him.

**AN: Ok, it's not as long as I would've liked but the rest of what I'd written in the outline would be better suited for ch. 3 (which I've already started on).**


	3. Mind Games

**I'm really sorry that it's taken so long for me to get this up. I've had it done for over a week but I just haven't been able to get to type it. The comp was down for a few days during the week. So, now, enough excuses - Here's Ch. 3. Bonne Appetite! (Thank you's at the end!)**

**Oh, and a new disclaimer: I don't own the TC4 (yet) and Craig Drescher and Neil Cragg are two real people. They race toy cars. I definately don't own them.**

"Hand it over," Kurtis demanded.

Lara smiled, a glowing green stone clutched in her bruised fist. "No."

His booted foot kicked out, connecting hard with her jaw and sending her spinning to the ground. She spat out a mouthful of blood onto the rough stone floor and sat up, wiping more from the corner of her lips. Her eyes widened in surprise as she found herself staring down the barrel of a revolver. There was a bang and then...

Lara woke up suddenly, her heart racing and her night clothes clinging to her sweat soaked form. She sat up, gasping for air as though she were breathing it in for the first time. She clasped a trembling hand to her forehead, half expecting to find a bullet hole and a trickle of blood running down her face. After calming down, Lara threw off her covers and walked quickly to the bathroom for a shower.

She turned on the water, let down her hair, and stepped in. She stood there for a while, just letting the water run down her - a futile attempt in washing away the ludicrous thoughts that the dream had imprinted in her mind. She wasn't even sure yet what to make of the dream, but something deep down told her that it was just a load of nonsense spurred by her distrust of the Lux Veritatis warrior; Could he really be Karel? Lara shut off the water, grabbed a towel, and stepped out of the shower, her bare feet slipping on the cold floor.

She dressed at top speed in gray cargo pants, a black t-shirt, and her boots, tied her wet hair into a braid, and departed. Lara took the stairs two at a time and took a passageway to the library, where she found Kurtis at a table with the leather book from his pack lying open.

"Let me see your gun," she said sharply.

"'Morning, Croft," said Kurtis.

"Now." she added firmly.

Kurtis handed over the gun, butt first. She looked curiously at it - a model which she had never seen before. Lara turned it over a few times before handing it back to it's owner.

"I call it the Boron X," he told her. "It's my own design - one of a kind."

"What other weapons do you carry?" she asked, desperate to prove that this man really was not who she thought he might be.

He pulled out the metal disc that he'd taken from her top drawer and five razor sharp blades shot out from it's circumference. "What were you expecting - a revolver?"

For once, Lara was speechless. How could he have knokwn? Was he telepathic or had he had the dream as well?

"Enlighten me, Croft," said Kurtis. "How sure are you that I'm not Karel?"

"I think I have enough on my mind at the moment with Karel's mind games, let alone yours. He's obviously trying to trick me, if not you as well." said Lara.

He laughed. "You're still convinced? How can you be so certain?"

"One: The only way to get a hold of that," - Lara gestured towards the Boron X - "would be to kill it's owner and creator and take it. Two: Killing a certain Lux Veritatis would make this precious key of yours useless, as there's only one warrior left. And three: There's no way that _anyone_ could impersonate a cocky bastard like yourself and be able to pull it off so damn well." she told him. "Now, if you haven't got any more stupid questions, I think I'll go and check on Bryce."

With eighty-three rooms and only three permanent residents (one of whom slept in a trailer outside), Croft Manor was almost always as silent as a tomb - Just how the lady of the house liked it. The soft rubber soles of her boots padded lightly on the floor, making nearly no noise at all. She wound her way through the corridors until she came to the control center.

Bryce did not look up when she entered, but kept his eyes on the screen. Lara walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"No Lara, I'm not bloody done yet," he said irritably, eyes still scanning various phrases.

"I didn't expect you to be. More coffee?" she asked, noting the several empty mugs on the work counter.

He shook his head. "Hillary is already bringing some. I'll let you know when I'm done."

Lara smiled. "I've got some good news."

He turned around and regarded her with bleary eyes - He looked exhausted. "Let me guess - you've just saved fifteen percent on car insurance by switching to Geico?"

"Not quite that good," she told him. "I've got a starting point for you - Cappadocia. It's in Turkey. Now I just need you to narrow it down for me."

"Even better," said Bryce, his fingers dancing quickly across the keyboard.

"Zelve," declared Bryce a quarter of an hour later as he came rushing into the library, a computer print out clutched in his hand.

He crossed the room in a few long strides and passed the paper off to Lara. She read it three time in quick succession, making sure not to miss anything.

"Bible Code?" she asked skeptically.

"Well, it's not _technically_ Bible Code, as it's not from the Bible, but it's the same basic concept. I ran the English translation first and found nothing, but when I ran it in the symbol form that came up."

The result of Bryce's search had yielded the words '_Cappadocia_', '_Turkey_', '_Zelve_', and '_Church_'.

"Bible Code?" Kurtis repeated in a confused tone.

"A few scientists came up with the theory that a lot of major events had been predicted by the Bible. They used the Hebrew text and a specifically designed search matrix to find words hidden within the text, sort of like a crossword puzzle. It's predicted everything from Hitler to 9/11." said Lara.

"Well then," said Kurtis. "Zelve it is then."

When Lara next entered the control center, she found that someone - presumably Hillary - had removed the coffee cups and the workspace was now strewn with the parts of a half-completed radio controlled car. Bryce was hunched over a small differential, working with the miniscule ball bearings.

"So this is what you spend your pay on, then is it? Toy cars?" said Lara, jokingly.

"It's not just _any_ toy car," said Bryce. "It's a brand new Team Associated RC10 TC4 - top of the line. This is what I need if I want to be able to compete with guys like Cragg and Drescher."

She laughed. "Who and who?"

"Neil Cragg and Craig Drescher - they're two of England's top R/C racers." he told her, adjusting the diff.

Lara smiled. "At any rate, I just wanted to congratulate you on a job well done, and yes, you can have a raise to buy more toy car parts. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to make a phone call."

Bryce turned to thank her, but by the time he had, he could already see her retreating back.

Lara sat down behind her desk in the study. She reached over to a small black leather book, flipped open the cover, and thumbed to the 'K's. She dialed the number and wated until someone picked up.

"Hello?" asked a woman's voice in Kurdish on the other end.

"Akasma? It's Lara." she said. "How are you?"

There was a pause. "I'm fine. And you? How is retired life treating you?"

"Not too well, I'm afraid." said Lara. "I'm out of retirement and I need your help. You're familiar with Zelve, right?"

"Yes, very. I grew up near there." replied the woman called Akasma. "I'd be honored to help you. What do you need?"

"Just a place to stay and some information on the city. I'd be grateful if you could provide accommodations for my colleague and I." said Lara.

"We'd be glad to have you. When will you be coming?" asked Akasma.

"Tomorrow, if it's not too soon." Lara told her. "Tesekkurler."

Lara and Akasma said their goodbyes and she returned the phone to it's place on the cradle. She looked up then to see the blue eyed demon hunter leaning casually against the doorframe, a smirk on his face.

"Just in case you didn't catch it while you were eavesdropping on me, we leave tomorrow. I'll have Hillary make the arrangements." she told him, brushing past and out into the hall.

**Thank you's:**

**Godess-Brigid: Merci! I love to hear compliments like that. :)**

**Dash St. Pierre: I've already thanked you via IM. lol.**

**missy1mis: You can thank me for thanking you again! lol. I haven't gotten to read 'initial reactions' yet but I'll get to it soon.**

**godavari: You already know what I'm going to tell you - UPDATE! lol. j/k. I know that Lara could never retire - why do you think she agreed? lol.**

**Cityofangels: Gooder than good. That makes me happy to know that. :) Thanks for reading!**

**Steve: For inspiring me to write about toy cars. :P**

**Now all of you - when you're done basking in the glory that I've given you by thanking you all personally, you should all review again so that it keeps my hopes up and I can thank you all again! It's one big evil cycle. Muahahahahaha! lol.**


	4. 20 Questions

**Hey guys, I meant to update sooner but I've been très busy! Work, school, racing, etc. Ok, this is ch. 4. Sorry that it's so short but it's all I had the time to write and ch. 5 will be longer, I promise!**

**L'Ange**

**6:00 PM**

The small, dilapidated charter plane stood empty on the runway. Its pilot, a portly man with red hair and gray eyes, was nearby with his arms folded over his chest and a lit cigarette. The man smiled and stomped it out as he saw a cloud of dust moving towards him. No more than a moment later, the black Bentley Arnage had pulled up and parked.

He waited as the two people - the driver, a familiar woman with a long, auburn plait and sunglasses, and the passenger, a muscular man with dark brown hair and piercing blue eyes - climbed from the car and grabbed their packs. The woman smiled warmly as the pilot approached her with open arms.

"Lara!" he exclaimed in a thick Irish accent as they embraced. "You hadn't called -I was beginning to think that you might have gone and gotten careless."

"No, I'm still alive _and_ kicking."- _for now at least_, she added mentally. "How are you, Mick?"

"No complaints. Ready for take off?" he asked.

"I think with everything that I've seen over the years, I'm ready for anything." said Lara, allowing Mick to lead her and Kurtis onto the plane.

Two hours later found the plane in the sky and Lara fast asleep with her head leaning against the window. Kurtis was sitting across the aisle from her and looking out his own window at the night sky. He was trying as hard as possible to keep from looking at Lara, as every time he did so, he couldn't help but think how vulnerable the tomb raider looked. He let out a sigh and leaned his head towards the wall for support, hoping to catch some sleep.

After realizing a few moments later that sleep would not come, Kurtis pulled a small spiral notepad from his pack and flipped it open. The book was full of notes that he'd taken during the past few years. There was one page in particular that was extremely worn. It read:

_Name: Lara Croft_

_D.O.B.: 2.14.76_

_I don't know too much about Ms. Croft at the moment, but she's after the paintings and I'm not sure what for. I could always just let her do the dirty work and then persuade her to let me have this one after she finds it... I don't know, I have a feeling that I'm underestimating her. She doesn't look the part of a tomb raider. I still wonder how she got dragged into all of this..._

"That would be Werner's fault." said a voice from across the aisle.

Kurtis snapped to attention to see Lara watching him with a small smile playing across her lips. _Another question to add to that list - is she telepathic?_ he asked himself.

"In case you're wondering," she said. "I read the reflection in the window."

It was then that Kurtis realized that he'd been slouching sideways in his seat. "Oh," he replied.

"Professor Werner von Croy was my mentor, I guess you could say. At least, he taught me what _not_ to do on a dig." said Lara.

_Like minding the warning signs, _she thought.

"Too bad that he didn't pay attention to the ones about Eckhardt," said Kurtis.

_Stay out of my head,_ Lara told him mentally.

"Gladly. You're pretty boring anyway." Kurtis answered aloud.

Somehow, though, Lara had the feeling that he had not left.

"So, how did you do it? How did you escape?" she asked in an attempt at changing the subject.

Kurtis shrugged his shoulders and pulled up his shirt. Spread across his muscular torso was a huge, newly healed scar which seemed to have gone straight through him. Sure enough, Kurtis turned in his seat to show the exit wound on his back.

"Boaz did that. I don't know how I lived long enough to make it out of there, but I did. I just stayed focused on getting out and the last thing I remember was waking up a week later in the hospital." he told her. "How did _you_ get out?"

"Why don't you just pry into my mind some more and figure it out yourself?" she asked.

"Ouch, Croft. That was caustic." said Kurtis.

Lara smiled. "Big word, _Trent_." she said, putting extra emphasis onto his last name.

"This is getting old, fast." he said. "Arguing with you. I thought we were working together."

"We are, but don't think for a minute that that means I trust you." she told him.

"Why don't you?" asked Kurtis.

She raised an eyebrow. "What is this? Twenty Questions?"

"If you want to call it that," said Kurtis. "Going to answer?"

"No, because that was two questions. My turn. Why do you think that I don't look the part of a tomb raider?" Lara asked.

He shrugged again. "You're a lot better looking than the rest of them. My turn. Longest relationship?"

"Five months, Terry Sheridan. Car?" she asked.

"My bike and an old Ford pickup. Green." he answered. "Footwear?"

"Footwear?" she repeated with a laugh. "Stilettos. Actually, boots. These ones, in fact. Boxers or briefs?"

**Hah, thought I'd leave that answer up to your imaginations ;)**


	5. Istanbul

**Hey guys! I'm baaaack! lol. It took me a little longer than expected, but here it is, chapter 5. Oh, and a shoutout to Godavari for reviewing :) I want those cookies! lol.**

**Chapter 5 - Istanbul**

Lara parked the rental car in front of the familiar house. It was well kept, average in size, white, and had a small garden in front. She and Kurtis stepped out of the car and headed up the walk. Lara would have felt bad about calling at such a late hour, had she not already made plans with Akasma to arrive at that time. She knocked briskly on the door and waited until she heard the sliding of the lock and the door opened out towards them.

"Lara!" exclaimed the woman as she threw her arms around her. "It's so good to see you! Nazim! They're here! Come in, sit."

"It's wonderful to see you, Akasma," said Lara, sitting down on the sofa. "Nazim! How are you?"

Nazim Kadri, Akasma's husband, had crossed the room to give his old friend a hug. "You haven't visited in so long, we were getting worried!"

She smiled warmly. "I've been getting that a lot. I've just been busy, that's all. I'm fine."

"Lara! Lara!" cried a small voice.

She whirled around in her chair to see a small tan skinned girl with long black hair running to her with outstretched arms.

"Derya!" she said happily, hugging the girl.

"Lara! Do you want to see my new pet? It's a goldfish!" said Derya, grabbing Lara's hand and dragging her to her room.

Nazim and Akasma turned to Kurtis, who had not said a word since the airport when Lara had won the bet to see who would drive to Istanbul. He smiled at them. _They seem nice_, he thought. _How did they ever end up associating with someone like Croft?_

"So," said Nazim, a man with black hair flecked with gray and bespectacled eyes to match. "You must be Lara's colleague. What did you say your name was?"

"Kurtis Trent," he said, shaking hands with the man.

"I am Nazim Kadri and this is my wife, Akasma." he replied with a tired smile.

"Thank you for letting us stay here, it's very kind of you." said Kurtis.

"Well, it's late. Perhaps you'd like to bring your things to the guest room?" asked Akasma, who stood up from her seat on the plush, red sofa.

He nodded. "Thanks."

Akasma led the way down the hall to a room on the left. It was decorated just like any other guest room, but to his relief, the Kadris' did not decorate guest rooms in theme like Americans. He threw his pack on to the bed and turned to thank Akasma, only to find that she was already gone. He sat down on the bed and took off his boots, kicking them over to the side. He let out a sigh and wished that he hadn't, as he was quite sure that the Kadris' would not approve of him smoking in the house and after an hour and a half ride in the non-smoking rental car with Lara he was in desperate need of a cigarette.

He pulled the pack and his lighter out and went to sit on the back porch. He lit up and sat there alone for what seemed like at least an hours. The night air was quiet and still and, had there not been noise from the street in the distance, he might have been worried that he'd gone deaf. The silence was broken a few moments later as someone opened the sliding glass door behind him.

"Trouble sleeping?" asked Lara.

"It's hard not to when I've got to be stuck with you all day." he responded.

"Funny," she said. "But wasn't it you who dragged me into this mess?"

"It'll be a mess when people start shooting at us and that hasn't happened yet now has it?" said Kurtis, smirking.

Lara sat down in one of the plastic chairs and sighed. "I wouldn't bet against that happening, either, and chances are that it will be pretty soon."

In a flash, she had a gun drawn and aimed into the bushes of the Kadris backyard. There was a soft rustling and someone could be seen fleeing, apparently knowing that one of their targets was onto them. Lara bolted from her seat and took off after the camouflaged stalker, gun held out in front of her. She followed him on to a path that led to the main road and yelled "freeze!" but he didn't listen. A bright flash suddenly came out of nowhere, whizzing past Lara's head and stopping only inches from the man's face. He stopped suddenly, dropped his gun onto the sidewalk, and slowly raised both hands into the air.

Lara approached him carefully, fully aware that he was more than likely still armed. Kurtis' chirugai whirled ominously in front of the man and she had the feeling that even if he had weapons on his person, he was in no position to use them against her.

"You all right?" asked Kurtis a few seconds later as he came jogging barefoot up the sidewalk.

She nodded. "I'm fine. Here, he's all yours."

"Who are you?" he asked the man, who was dressed all in black with smudges on his face. "Who sent you?"

Before Kurtis could do anything, the man pulled a long chain out from the front of his Kevlar vest and pulled the stopper out of a small, glowing green vial. Both Kurtis and Lara snatched at it but it was too late. The man swallowed it in one gulp and collapsed to the ground.

"Damn it!" Kurtis swore. "Now we might never find out who he's working for!"

Lara laughed lightly. "I wouldn't be so sure." she said, kneeling down and pulling out a wallet from the man's pack. "It doesn't give a name, but he sure was an idiot. There's an address written down. That's Zaganos' place."

"Who?" he asked, grabbing the chirugai out of the air and retracting its five blades.

"Gencer Zaganos - he's something of a local 'business man'. Believe me, if you thought Bouchard was bad you won't want any part of Zaganos. Bouchard's 'organization' might've been into weapons, night clubs, and illegal substances, but Zaganos' crew deals in all of that and more, including murder for hire." said Lara.

They both wheeled around at the sound of footsteps coming up the walk. Lara lowered her gun and Kurtis followed suit as they caught sight of Nazim Kadri, who had both hands wrapped around a small revolver.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Nothing, Nazim, we're fine. Perhaps we should go inside." said Lara, stepping deliberately into Nazim's view of the body.

He nodded. "Zaganos?"

"Yes, perhaps Kurtis and I should check into a hotel?" she suggested.

"No, but you _should_ get in off the streets. Come on - the police will find the body and I'm sure there is nothing they can do to blame the two of you." he said, leading them both back to the house.

"So," said Kurtis, finding the silence of the Kadris' kitchen to be unbearable. "Why is this Zaganos guy after us? How does he even know that we're here? We've only been in the country for about two hours and we've already got assassins on us?"

"Let's just say that Zaganos and I have some history behind us. I've never dealt with him personally, but I've kept plenty of his business partners from coming through with their end of the bargain. He gave me a nasty warning to stay out of the country and out of his business but I paid it no attention. This is the fastest they've ever found me - Normally they don't get word until I'm already back over the border. My guess is that someone tipped him off." said Lara.

"Mick?" asked Kurtis.

Lara shook her head. "At least, I don't think so. He was a good friend of my father's."

Akasma entered the kitchen having finally convinced Derya to calm down and get some rest. She sighed and pulled up a chair in between her husband and Lara. Without having been told anything, she knew exactly what had happened.

"It is not safe for you to stay long," she told Lara and Kurtis. "Zaganos already knows where you are and he will not give up this easily."

Nazim nodded in agreement. "Until we can get you out of the city, you should stay in crowded places. He is powerful, but from what I have heard he cannot afford to lose many more men to the authorities so it would be foolish for them to attack in broad daylight or in a crowd."

"It wouldn't be best just to stay here?" Kurtis asked.

"No," said Lara, shaking her head. "They already know that we're here and someone else could catch us off guard like that poor chap tried to do. I still can't believe that they've sworn to commit suicide rather than tell who they're working for. It's not like Zaganos' organization is completely underground."

"He'd rather not have assassins pointing the finger at him and his front when they're cornered like that." said Kurtis.

"Well, I'll go set the alarm system just in case and then we should all try and get to sleep. Tomorrow I'll take you out on the town. You've come at a good time - there's an exhibit opening at the museum tomorrow night and Nazim and I are obliged to attend. Perhaps you'd like to come along?" said Akasma.

"That would be lovely." said Lara, smiling at Kurtis' apprehensive expression. "Oh, Trent, it won't be _that_ bad. I'm sure they'll have food."

Kurtis laughed half-heartedly and agreed to go. He and Lara parted ways at the hallway as she headed off to her room. She rounded the corner into the room and pulled the door shut behind her. There was a loud smack as Kurtis turned around and walked face first into the door at the end of the hall. He rubbed his forehead and walked back up the hall to his room and reached for the handle when the other door creaked open.

"Hello." said Derya. "What are you doing?"

"I turned the wrong way going to the kitchen. Sorry for waking you." he said.

"It's ok. My name is Derya, what's yours?" asked the little girl.

"Kurtis." he answered. "It's nice to meet you."

"Are you a warrior of light?" she asked after a pause.

Kurtis looked at her in poorly disguised shock. "No, I'm not."

She looked crestfallen. "Oh. Because I heard mum say that they're going to come back - the bad angels. She said that there was only one warrior of light left and that he had to make them go away. I thought that you were here to make them go away."

"Don't worry about that Derya - they won't come back. I promise." he told her. "Now go get to sleep. You wouldn't want your mom to find you up this late."

She smiled and went back into her room, closing the door. Kurtis pulled open the door to his room and collapsed onto the bed. He silently berated himself for a few moments. _For watching Lara, for lying to Derya..._ And lying there with his incriminating thoughts flying around his mind, he fell fast asleep.


	6. Doing Things The Hard Way

**Chapter 6**

**Doing Things The Hard Way**

"Here we are," said Nazim as the black stretch limo pulled up in front of Topkapi Palace.

Lara, Akasma, Kurtis, and Nazim climbed from the car and began walking to the entrance. They passed through a magnificent gate and continued a long through the courtyard until the museum came into view. The Istanbul Archaeological Museum appeared as a grand building with Greek architecture.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" asked Akasma as they neared the door.

Lara nodded and continued on, looking for the inevitable. And there it was. There were two guards at the door with a metal detecting wand. _Damn it,_ Lara thought.

"You go on ahead. I've left something in the car." She said, turning back around.

She walked around the side of the building until she found a low enough window. She checked to make sure that it was unlocked and then slid it open. Lara hopped up onto the window ledge and pulled herself feet first into a first floor men's room.

"Well at least it's unoccupied," she said quietly and started to head for the door.

But the door burst open. One of the invited couples had decided to sneak off and have a bit of fun. Lara ducked into a stall as they did the same and then left once she'd heard the door shut. The corridor outside was unoccupied for quite a ways so Lara made her way to the hall where the banquet was to be held.

"Lara, I was getting worried." said Nazim as she met up with them.

"I'm all right." she looked around. "Where's Kurtis?"

Akasma shrugged. "I'm not sure. He said he had to do something and we haven't seen him since."

"Mind if I take a look around?" asked Lara. "I'd like to see some of the exhibits."

"I'll show you, if you'd like," said Akasma.

Lara shook her head. "No, that won't be necessary. You two enjoy your evening. They're honoring you, no?"

And with that, she turned on her high heels and walked down the rest of the corridor to the museum's most famous exhibit. Lara slowly approached the Alexander Sarcophagus and slid out her new camera - a Panasonic D-Snap - and began taking still photos of it.

"Ms. Croft, I presume?" asked a man with a thick accent from behind her.

"Yes?" she answered, straightening up and shutting the screen on her camera.

"I am the curator, Osman Hamdi Bey. It is quite the honor to have you in my museum."

"Thank you. It's an honor meeting you, sir. I've heard quite a lot about you." she answered.

"Allow me to give you a tour, Lady Croft?" he asked.

"Actually, I was about to head back to the banquet but I'll be coming back tomorrow to get a better look around. I'd be glad to have one then." she said.

"It is arranged. Around what time tomorrow? One?" he asked.

Lara nodded. "Yes, that sounds lovely. Bye then!" she said, waving goodbye and walking back in the direction from whence she'd came.

She sat down at a table with Nazim, Akasma, and Kurtis, who had finally decided to stop sneaking around, just as the presentation began.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," said an aging man who stood at the microphone before them all. "We are here tonight to pay tribute to not only all of the archaeologists who have filled these chambers with these magnificent artifacts, but also the new generation of archaeologists whose job it is to fill our remaining halls. In particular tonight, the museum wishes to recognize Dr. Akasma Kadri, whose latest trip to the Cappadocia region has not only left the museum with some splendid treasures, but will leave the world with a new view on life in the caves and tunnels of the area."

Applause broke out through the hall and Akasma turned to look at everyone, a stunned look on her face. She'd worked her entire life to be as successful and as well known as her father and now she'd just outdone him.

"Now, before the new exhibit - Zelve: Labyrinth of Refuge - is opened to you, let's eat!" said the man, who went and joined a table himself.

"If you'll excuse me," said Lara, standing up from her chair.

Lara checked around to make sure that no one was watching and walked out to the building housing the new exhibit. Surprisingly, there were no guards, but the cameras that Bryce had warned her about were all watching the door. She pulled out her phone and dialed the manor.

"Hi Lara," said Bryce as he answered.

"Bryce, I'm almost there. I just need you to get the cameras and any other security measure they might have down." she told him hurriedly.

She could hear keys typing in the background and then the flashing red dots on all of the cameras went out.

"You've got 5minutes at the least. I can't promise that they'll stay off much longer than that. Good luck, Lara." he said.

"Thanks, but I make my own luck." she returned, closing her phone and opening the unlocked door.

Her heels clicked lightly on the highly polished floor. She had to get the medallion and get out of there and fast. Either Karel or Zaganos was already onto her and she couldn't risk it falling into the wrong hands. The medallion was easy to spot among the other finds, being one of the more unique artifacts.

She approached the case holding the gold medallion and pulled out her lipstick and the long, red gloves that matched her gown. She pulled them on, reapplied her lipstick in the reflection of the case, and then twisted it in the other direction. Lara set it down on the ledge of the case and watched as a blue electrical shock spread out over the glass and marble. There was a small, dying electronic beep and the alarm system on the case was disarmed.

Lara pulled out a small black kit from her purse. It was the one that she used if she ever needed a car and had very little time to acquire one. She pulled out a thin, flat tipped screwdriver and inserted it under the glass and pried it up. She slipped the silver chain of the medallion around her wrist and proceeded to put it in the pouch strapped to her thigh, just by the gun that she had sneaked in.

"Very 007, Croft," said a familiar voice behind her.

She turned to see Kurtis leaning against the door frame in his tux. He crossed the room and looked at the empty case and smiled.

"So, going to tell me what it is and why you're stealing it?" he asked.

"I will when we get out of here, but first, we need a good cover story." she said.

Lara put her arms around his neck and pulled him close. Their lips met and, despite her intentions, they didn't separate for quite a while.

"Hmm, you don't look so bad in that shade, Trent." she said, dragging him out of the hall with her.

"Where have you two been?" asked a panic stricken Akasma as they met them a while later in front of the museum. "Someone has stolen one of my artifacts!"

Lara took her friend in her arms and whispered quickly in her ear. "He's onto us. See you in a bit, all right?" and then said louder, "It's going to be all right, I'm sure they'll catch the slimy git."

Kurtis wiped the rest of Lara's dark red lipstick from his lips and followed her away from the museum.

"Where are we going and why are we walking?" he asked as they walked onto the main road.

"To see an old friend of mine, but first we'll go change. I have a feeling that an evening gown won't be the most suitable clothing and we're not walking, we'll catch a cab." she told him, hailing a taxi.

"So how did you know someone was onto us?" Kurtis asked as he drove the rental car through the streets of Istanbul.

"When I went to go look at the Alexander Sarcophagus earlier I met the curator. He was a curious man who sounded quite Egyptian, or possibly Sudanese and the name Osman Hamdi Bey. Most people would've found that believable, except for the fact that Osman Hamdi Bey, the founder of the museum, died in 1910. After that I knew that he was a fake. I'm guessing that it was Karel in disguise and that leads me to think that Zaganos is working for him." she explained.

Kurtis made a right onto a smaller street. "All right, but that doesn't explain everything. If this Bey guy really was Karel, why didn't he just attack you then and there?"

"Because he's biding his time. My guess is that he doesn't know how much we know or don't know yet and he wants to figure it out before making a move. If there's something that we know that he doesn't, it would be a waste to kill us before getting the information." said Lara.

"Is this it?" he asked, pulling up in front of a large office complex.

Lara nodded. "Yes, this is it. Park down that alley, just there."

Kurtis parked the car and Lara flipped out her phone once more.

"Hello?" asked a man's voice.

"Hello Hilly. Is Bryce at home?" she asked.

"Ah, Lara. Good to hear from you, too. Are you staying safe?" he asked, ignoring her previous question.

She laughed. "Yes, I'm fine. I'm sure that you're fine as well, now let me speak to Bryce. It's important nerd stuff."

"If you must," said Hillary, followed by a long pause.

"Hey Lara," said Bryce. "Did you _make out _all right in the museum?"

Lara sat in silence for a second, wondering if the cameras had come back on while she and Kurtis had still been in the Zelve exhibit. "Yes, perfectly all right. I've got the medallion in a safe place and now I need your help again."

"You're at Zaganos' headquarters and you need me to dismantle the security system for you, right?" he said quickly.

"Yes. That's right." she replied.

"No can do. I'm sorry, Lara but I watched you going there on the GPS and I checked out the system. There's no possible way that I can get it knocked out long enough for you to get in there and do whatever it is that you're intending on doing." he told her.

She sighed and let her head fall back onto the head rest. "All right, we'll have to do this the hard way then. Thanks anyway, Bryce. Tell Hillary I hope he's well. G'night."

Lara closed the phone and put it back into her pack and slung it on as she got out of the car.

"What are you doing?" Kurtis asked.

"Doing this the hard way." she replied, walking up to the building with Kurtis now following behind.

"Have you got a plan?" Kurtis asked her as they scoped out the front of the building.

"We should take him by surprise, but I figure that just showing up will be surprising enough." she said.

"This guy has already sent assassins after us, Lara. I don't think he's interested in talking." he said.

She laughed lightly and shook her head. "Zaganos is too important to be involved in that. He sent an assassin to kill us so that his name would never get involved, not to mention that he had the killer commit suicide before we could find out who he was working for. Too bad that he hired an idiot. No, Zaganos won't just kill us in cold blood on his own property, nor will he have any of his cronies kill us in there. My name is too widely known and if I were to go missing it wouldn't go unnoticed. He won't risk it."

Kurtis nodded. "All right, so are we just going to walk in there?"

"That seems the only way, doesn't it?" said Lara, heading for the front door.

The door swung open as they approached and a tall man in a suit appeared.

"Can I help you?" he asked in Turkish.

"Yes, can you please tell Mr. Zaganos that Lady Croft is here to see him?" she told the man.

He nodded and picked up his radio.

"He'll see you. Follow me."

The thug led Lara and Kurtis into a gray room with no furniture and two doors and shut the door behind himself. The other door opened and two more men came in, both dressed in navy blue work suits and combat boots. One of the men approached Lara and placed his hands on her upper arms. His grubby hands worked their way down to her holster and removed the one gun that she had strapped to her thigh. He placed the .45 on a tray that one of the other men was holding and continued along. He quickly found the knife on her belt, the gun and two more knives in her bag, and the knife in the sole of her left boot. He worked his hands back up to her waist and then wrapped them around the front, groping her. Lara elbowed him hard in the stomach and the man backed away.

Kurtis had faired much easier and they were permitted through the door into a hall with four prison cells. _Damn it,_ thought Lara. _I should've known it wouldn't be that easy_. The guard that had previously been groping Lara had taken a hold of Kurtis' arm and threw him into one cell. The other guard that had appeared grabbed Lara's arm and tossed her into the one opposite him. Both cell doors slammed shut and were locked. The man gave Lara a toothy grin before hanging the keys up on the wall and leaving with the other, the later having said something about a cup of coffee.

"Ever play 'capture the flag' when you were a kid?" asked Kurtis from across the hall.

"Sorry, no." she replied.

Kurtis laughed. "Well, this reminds me of when I used to get caught on the other team's side and I'd wait for someone from my team to bust me out."

"And if no one came or they got caught themselves?" Lara asked.

"Then I'd make a damn good plan to break out and hope for the best." he said with a small laugh.

"Hmm, you could always use your Jedi mind-tricks on the guards to get them to let us out." she suggested sarcastically.

"If I could, I would." said Kurtis. "But I don't have any Jedi mind-tricks up my sleeve. It's more of a farsight thing. I can leave and look around to see what's ahead of me. It's how I got into your place. The codes are written on a slip of paper on the fridge."

"Do you think you could keep an eye on our hosts for me?"

Lara had her hands outside of her cell and was fumbling with the lock picking tools that she had concealed in her boots. _Thank God they don't do strip searches,_ she told herself as the lock clicked open.

"They're on the way, Croft, so I'd appreciate it if you could get me out of here." said Kurtis, coming back from one of his trance like states.

She could already hear the door the other side of the secure chamber opening and knew that it was too late. They would have already seen her on the cameras and there was no way that she could fight several armed men. She handed off the tools to Kurtis and then she saw it - the tray with her belongings in it sitting on a table near the door. She rushed over and picked up her guns and knives and ducked down in a corner as the door swung open.

Three armed men came in with their weapons drawn. They looked around at the cells first, making sure that they were both still there. One of the guards took a look at Lara's cell and pointed it out to the other two. They spread out over the small area looking for her.

"Hello, boys." she said, popping out with her gun trained on the closest one. "Ready to play?"

Before they knew what had happened, Kurtis' cell door slid open and his chirugai went whirling out of the tray in a bright orange flash and hovered near one of the guards' heads. Kurtis crossed the room and picked up his Boron X from the tray and trained it on the third guard.

"Now, you're all going to hand me your keys, get into a cell, and then I'm going to shut the doors and lock you in. Then we're going to go and have a nice little chat with your employer. All right?" Lara told them.

The guards all nodded and handed over their weapons and keys to Lara and Kurtis, who then proceeded to lock them into a cell. Lara waved good bye and then she and Kurtis walked back out through the gray room and into the main hall, devoid of the door man. They took a turn at the end of the hall and ran straight into the elevator. Lara pushed the button for the top floor and then waited. The shiny metal doors slid open as the lift came to a stop and Lara was anything but surprised to find herself standing only twenty feet from Gencer Zaganos.

"Lady Croft," he said, crossing the room. "A pleasure to finally meet you."

"I wish I could say the same, Mr. Zaganos." she responded.

Zaganos smiled widely and looked at Kurtis. "And you must be Trent?"

"Yeah, that'd be me." said the American.

"Please, sit down. Make yourselves comfortable." Zaganos told them. "I must admit, I'm quite disappointed that you and I are in the situation that we are in. My employer, you see. He does not want you to leave this building alive but I cannot afford to get any blood on my hands. You have already outsmarted my best men and now I find myself in a bit of dilemma. Do I let you live and worry about him dealing with me, or do I just kill you both now and lose everything that I have worked so hard for?"

"Who hired you?" asked Lara, still refusing to sit.

"I'm quite sure that you've met him before, milady." he said. "Mr. Karel will be pleased to see you again, I'm sure."

"Hmm, I'm sure he will." she said sarcastically remembering their last meeting. "Now, if you don't mind, I think we'll be going."

"I don't think you will, Croft." said Zaganos in a dangerous tone and aiming a gun at her.

Lara drew her gun in a flash and pulled the trigger. Zaganos gasped and sputtered for a second before falling back into his chair, blood pooling out all around.

"Did you have to make such a mess?" asked Kurtis as he checked the man's non-existent pulse.

"At least I didn't try to lob off his head." she retorted, holstering her weapon and opening the window. "Come on, there's a drain pipe that should hold our weight."


	7. Innocents Lost

**A/N: Really sorry that it's taken so long to get this up, but it was a very tough chapter to write. Lots of twists, lots of emotions, and lots of stuff I didn't want to write but had to. Shout outs at the end.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Lara, Kurtis, Karel, Hillary, Bryce, or Tomb Raider in general. I do however own Nazim, Akasma, and Derya Kadri, as well as Mick O'Leary.**

Chapter 7

Innocents Lost

Kurtis parked the rental car in the Kadris' driveway and turned off the engine. "There's something you're not telling me, Croft." he said abruptly.

"There's not enough time," replied Lara, her brown eyes pinned to the front door of the house.

She threw open the car door and walked cautiously towards the house, gun drawn. What had caught her attention so suddenly was the door, which stood slightly ajar. Lara tapped the door open with her boot and entered the house with Kurtis close behind.

Upon entering the house the metallic smell of blood overwhelmed Lara's nostrils. The vibrant red sofa had been overturned, the antique vases and artifacts shattered. Lara walked around the couch to see two bodies lying in pools of their own blood -- Nazim and Akasma Kadri. Lara went to them as Kurtis proceeded to clear the house.

Lara crouched down near Nazim, who had suffered a shot to the head, and checked his pulse, only to find it ceased. Next she went to Akasma, who had two wounds; one to the shoulder and one to the chest, which must have pierced her heart. She stretched out two fingers to the woman's neck, all hope now gone. But to her complete shock, Akasma uttered a soft noise and her eyelids flickered open.

"Lara," she whispered as her friend propped up her head. "Nazim, he is dead?"

She nodded solemnly. "Yes, I'm sorry. Come on, we've got to get you to the hospital."

"No, no time." Akasma said weakly.

"Can you tell me who did this to you?" Lara asked her.

Tears welled up in Akasma's eyes. "It was your so-called friend, Kurtis." she said, seething with anger.

Lara shook her head , feeling a sense of dawning comprehension. "No, that's impossible - He hasn't been out of my sight all evening. The man who did this to you is a man called Karel. He's a shape shifter."

"You call him a man? A man would not do such a thing. Lara, I am dying. I can feel the angels coming for me. I can almost hear their song. I need you to do something for me, Lara. Find Derya," she said. "He took her from me and in a mere moment or two he will have taken me from her. Find her, please. Take care of her, guide her from day to day and love her. You are, after all, her godmother."

"I will," Lara answered, tears running down her cheeks. "I'll never let any harm come to her so long as I still draw breath, I swear it, Akasma, my friend."

"The angels are here. Lara, remember this - 32-6-38-27. Goodbye." Akasma drew one long, shuddering breath and began convulsing, blood gurgling from her mouth.

Lara looked at her friend, eyes shut, motionless. She had passed. Lara gently lay her head back down onto the blood-soaked carpet and kissed her forehead.

"I'm sorry," said Kurtis, standing in the doorway to the kitchen.

"Let me see your hands, now." She demanded walking quickly towards him.

Kurtis held out his hands to her and she took them one at a time. She flipped each hand over to see if any markings were visible on them. Nothing.

"What was that about?" He asked.

"Karel has an emblem on his right palm. Akasma said that you had killed her husband, shot her, and kidnapped Derya." She explained, following the hallway to Akasma's office.

"Son of a bitch," Kurtis spat.

Once there she found a painting dangling from the wall. There was no safe. Apparently Karel and searched the whole house and still could not find it. Lara reached into her pack and pulled out an ultraviolet light and switched it on. She ran it over the walls until she found what she was looking for - It was a keypad. Lara punched in the numbers that Akasma had given her and the seamless wall popped out of place an inch or so and slid out of the way to reveal a small vault containing several books. She flipped through until she found the one she was looking for, which she tucked into the back of her pants and covered with her shirt. She put the rest in her pack and slung it over her shoulders.

"Let's get out of here." She said.

"Not so fast, Lady Croft," said a chillingly familiar voice.

"Karel," She muttered, staring past Kurtis to the doorway where Joachim Karel stood.

"You two don't leave until I have what was in that safe." He said.

Lara laughed. "And do you expect me to just hand it over?"

He smiled menacingly. "Actually, I do."

At that moment, he pulled a small figure into the doorway with him -- Derya Kadri. Derya looked up at Lara with tear stained cheeks and blood on her hands. The smile faded from Karel's mouth as he pointed his gun at the girl's head.

"Hand it over and the girl lives," He threatened.

Lara took off her pack took out the three remaining books and handed them to Karel, his blue eyes boring into her brown ones.

_"I kept my end, now give me Derya." Lara hissed, her right hand poised over the butt of her pistol. _

Karel laughed in a soft, yet malicious tone and grabbed Derya by the back of the neck. "No. But she's safe, Lady Croft, as long as you two don't do anything foolish."

And with that he pushed her back out of the door. Lara heard a shrill cry from the living room and knew at once that the sick bastard had made her stop and look at her parents' dead bodies. A moment later she heard the squealing of tires from the driveway. Lara and Kurtis ran back out of the house and to the car. Kurtis tossed Lara the keys and she pealed out of the drive after Karel, whose taillights were just visible at the end of the road.

"What are we going to do when we catch them?" Kurtis asked. "Because you know, Karel is part Nephilim - bullets can only slow him down."

"I'm still working on that one," She told him, sounding a little less certain than usual.

Kurtis smirked and clutched onto the handle above his head and drew his Boron X. "I was afraid you were going to say that."

Within a few moments Lara had caught up to Karel and there was no doubt now that he knew they were following him. He had said not to try anything stupid, but Karel knew Lara Croft. He knew that what he called stupid, she called first priority. She pulled up right behind the silver Lexus and nudged the back bumper just enough to let him know that they were there. Gunshots rang out and Kurtis fired back at Karel.

"No!" Lara cried. "What if he swerves and you hit Derya instead?"

"He's not going to kill her. She knows too much about us and what we're doing and I'm sure she knows exactly, if not more, what we know." He replied.

And with that, Lara bumped him again so hard that the car spun around, nearly flipping. As it came to a stop, the passenger side door shot open and Derya came running towards them. She dodged as Karel fired after her and Lara shot back, opening the rear door so that Derya could climb in, using it as a shield. As soon as the door had shut, Lara floored the accelerator and they left Joachim Karel standing there, firing at a car that was no longer in range.

Lara pulled into an alley and parked the car, taking a deep breath as she turned to look at Derya.

"It's not safe for you here," she said.

Derya nodded. "I know, but will it be any different anywhere else?"

"Possibly," Lara told her. "How about if you stay at the Manor until this is all over with? I'm sure Hilly and Bryce would love to see you again. Do you remember them?"

"Yes, a little." said Derya, her eyes brimming with tears.

Lara smiled and tilted the girls chin up with her index finger. "We've got a big swimming pool and loads of horses and stuff. I'm sure you'll love it. And after this is done I'll come back to the Manor and you'll have me to keep you company. I promised your mum I'd keep you safe, Derya, and if that means getting you away from here, so be it."

Derya answered with a soft "ok" and Lara headed off to the airfield.

Mick O'Leary was waiting for her as Lara Croft pulled up to the old plane once more. She'd made it quite clear during the phone call that she didn't care how much anyone else was willing to pay him, no one else was to board that plane.

"Hello again, Mick." said Lara as she approached, holding tight to Derya's small hand. "Mind if I take a look on board?"

His friendly expression turned to one of mock horror as Lara passed the girl off to the man that'd been with her before and he picked her up. Lara smiled as she passed Mick with her gun drawn and boarded. She searched every part of the small plane that could be used for hiding a person until she made her way to the rear. There, on the door of the hidden compartment where Lara kept her guns during travel, was a small smear of blood. She opened the door and gasped in shock as Mick's body tumbled out and fell to the carpeted floor of the plane.

She turned and ran back down the loading ramp and began firing at "Mick" and yelled for Kurtis to get in the car. Lara rolled to the side as Karel began firing at her and felt the bullet graze her shoulder. A white hot pain seared across her arm where the bullet had hit, but she set her mind and focused on getting away. Before she knew what had happened, Kurtis had floored the gas and came careening across the tarmac and collided square on with Karel. Lara pulled open the door and jumped in, shouting for Kurtis to go.

"Well, so much for that plan. Where to next?" Kurtis asked.

"Cappadocia," Lara replied.

With that, Kurtis headed out of Istanbul at full speed and into the night.

**The Odd Little Turtle - Thankfully I haven't been in any more wrecks, lol! It's hard to believe it's been almost a year since then (It's hard to believe that I haven't really written anything since then, either!) Thanks for reading!**

**PaulC - thank you! **

**sspence - The Lara/Kurtis relationship is something I'm struggling a bit with. I'm glad to see that I've gotten it down right, now I just have to worry about the evolution! lol.**

**Riva van Dyk - thanks, hope you like the update!**

**Shauniwritesit - Sorry that took so long, I know you were waiting patiently! lol. ;) Happy to see Karel finally? **

**AcidRush - thanks! I love that line myself, lol.**

**LadyLaraCroft - actually, I never really learned to write. It just came to me with a sprinkle of pixie dust ;) No, I've always been very into details. I actually wrote a book when I was little called "My Tree" about learning how to climb a tree and stuff and it was pretty neat. I've been into writing since then and I think I was 7 or 8 when I wrote that.**

**Nikola - Thank you! It means so much to hear comments like that, especially when there are so many other well written fics and talented writers here. :)**

**Silver - yeah, yeah, a bf. It didn't last too long, though. We broke up at the end of January, haha. And yes, I've been busy enjoying life like you suggested lol (note to other readers: Don't take my absence out on Silver!) Glad to hear you like the story!**

**godavari - no need to lose points, I'm sure you probably had a stockpile of them, anyway. lol. And yes, twitchy little ferret. Probably one of the best points in HP overall! lol. Thanks for reviewing ;)**

**Mystique1515 - thanks!**

**Trudi Button - Yes, it's past HBP, I know, but life beckoned! (and no, that doesn't mean I've been sitting on my arse drinking Beck's beer... lol) I'm still working on the L/K romance thing, though. **

**Thanks for hanging in there, everyone!**


	8. Getting Out of Dodge

**Disclaimer: I don't own Lara Croft, Kurtis Trent, or any other recognizeable characters, or Tomb Raider in general. I also don't own James Bond or Monty Python. **

**Warning: There's some unfair British stereotyping going on. I apologize to any of my British readers who might be offended by this, but it's all in good fun and makes for an amusing conversation. I do hope that you'll all find it amusing, as well. It comes after watching way too much Monty Python. lol. **

**The Show Must Go On!**

**Chapter 8 - Getting Out of Dodge**

Snow fell heavily over the treacherous Himalayan landscape. A tiny, lone figure clad in a long, navy blue jacket dotted the white slopes, trudging as fast as her legs could carrier her towards the small trekking village. Night had fallen faster and more densely than the snow at the foot of the mountain, and the lights of only one small inn still shone in the darkness. Shivering against the bitter cold that had engulfed her since the precious day, she drew her tattered jacket tighter around her frozen body and opened the door of the inn with numb fingers. The innkeeper, a frail looking old woman perched behind the bar, gave the pale little girl a curious glare.

"Namaste," the girl said. "Malai pani dinuhos." _Greetings - please give me some water_.

The woman passed her a glass of water, her eyes never leaving the girl's face.

"Khanuhos telephone?" she asked, forgetting the proper Nepali word for 'telephone'.

Again, the innkeeper procured an old telephone from under the bar and set it in front of the girl who spoke Nepali with an English accent.

"Tapa angreji bohna saknu hunchha?" _Do you speak English?_ The woman asked.

The girl nodded. "Cha, yes. My Nepali is very limited. I've only just started learning it a few days ago."

"It is very good." The woman told her with a smile, and finally forcing one out of the interesting child.

"Malai yo ramro lagena," one of the patrons slurred to his friend, continuing to mutter drunkenly about Englishmen running off the locals in search of the yeti.

Her fingers still frozen, she began to dial her phone number. "Winston?" she asked as someone picked up. "Winston it's Lara! I need to speak to father straight away."

"Yes, of course." he said before transferring the call.

There was a brief silence in which she heard the man in the corner say to his friend, "See? She thinks she's seen one!"

"Lara? Are you all right?" Lord Richard Croft asked his daughter.

She took a deep, calming breath before answering. "Yes, I'm all right, but something has happened. Could you please come get me in Katmandu at your earliest possible convenience? I'll be at the hotel mother reserved."

"I'll be there by dawn, darling. I have a feeling we'll have plenty to discuss then. I love you, Lara, sleep well, darling." He said.

"I love you, too, Daddy." Lara replied, hanging up the receiver, her eyes brimming with tears.

The woman smiled softly. "Call back and give him these coordinates, dear. I don't want you out there trekking to Katmandu at this hour. Besides, the city is a day away by truck - you'll never make it there by morning."

Lara did as she was told and her father agreed to pick her up at the inn in the village. The woman had been kind enough to offer her a room and food, although she had no money. She quickly ate a large meal of rice, vegetables, and meats, drank several more glasses of water, and a steaming mug of chai tea before retiring to her room where she fell fast asleep under the warm, woven blankets.

She awoke the next morning to the sound of the whirling blades of a Helicopter passing overhead. Lara sprung out of bed and ran downstairs, not bothering to slip on her shoes before rushing out into the snow and throwing herself into the open arms of her father.

"Thank God you're all right," he said, embracing his daughter.

And then, for the first time, the tears slid down her cheeks, feeling as though they'd freeze as soon as they did. "Daddy the plane crashed, and mummy and I survived. I was looking for firewood and I found a temple and there was a big rock with a sword set into it and I know I shouldn't have touched it, but I did. And then there was a light and mummy pulled me away from it and then she pulled out the sword and then…and then she vanished."

Lara finished her story quickly and then fell back into her father's embrace, sobbing on his shoulder. She knew that she must look a horrible mess after trekking down the mountain without proper gear, and deep down she felt that this mess was all her fault. But at that moment, none of that mattered. Her mother might have been stolen from her, but she still had her father and as long as she had him, she always had a shoulder to cry on. That was love.

* * *

_ And then even he was stolen away from me_, she thought bitterly to herself, suddenly recalling the moment when she'd learnt the truth of what had happened to her father - That he had not really gone missing in the field, as first presumed, but had in fact been murdered by Manfred Powell…

Lara turned around to face the backseat, where she saw the shadowed form of Derya Kadri sleeping soundly, her head against the window.

"Whatcha thinking about?" Kurtis asked suddenly from the driver's seat. "And don't say 'nothing', because I've seen you with that look before and it's always 'something' rather than 'nothing' when you've got that look."

Lara smiled lightly. "Something that happened a very long time ago. Something that doesn't make Derya and I so unlike. Or you and I for that matter."

"I'm guessing then, that your parents are both.." he ventured.

"Yeah. My mum died in the Himalayas in a plane crash when I was nine. My dad was murdered in Cambodia when I was fifteen." She told him.

"I'm sorry, Lara. That must've been tough." said Kurtis.

She shrugged. "It could have been easier. What about you? I know about your father, but what of your mother?"

"I never knew her. Well, I mean, I did, when I was really little. She died when I was three, I think. I actually still don't know too much about how it happened. I don't really remember her." he told her.

"My father isn't dead." a small voice said suddenly from behind.

Lara whirled around to see Derya sitting perfectly upright, fully awake. "Derya, I'm sorry, but I saw him. He had no pulse,"

"Nazim is dead, yes. _Not_ my father. Look, mum gave me this paper a long time ago and told me never to lose it, and to call it should anything happen to her. I have to talk to him, Lara! Maybe I can stay there and I'll be safe from that man!" She exclaimed, handing over a piece of paper to her godmother.

There was an address in Utah and a phone number written on the paper in Akasma's delicate handwriting. Lara took out her cell phone and rang home. "Bryce, It's Lara…. Yes, I know that it's late….. Yes, I'm aware that you were sleeping, but I don't care. I need you to do something for me."

Lara read him the address and the phone number and told him to run a trace on it and see if he could find anything about the man and his current whereabouts. "Call me when you find something and please don't go back to sleep until you do - this is important."

"You might as well tell him to call off his search now, Lara. I know that number. I know that man, and," Kurtis said. "Well I don't think he exists anymore. He died around the same time as my father."

At that moment her phone rang. "Bryce, what did you find?"

"Ok, Lara, I think someone in your party has got amnesia if you're looking up that address.. The last known renter is Christian Kline, one of Kurtis' aliases. Sorry if that's not what you were looking for." Bryce told her.

"No, that's all right. Thank you, Bryce." she said before hanging up the phone. "Kurtis, I think it's time we find somewhere to stay for the night, don't you?"

Kurtis shrugged. "Sure, I'll pull off at the next exit."

They stopped at the third motel that they found off of the main road, the other two having been highly decrepit and appearing to be held up by magic. They checked in and Lara immediately sent Derya off to the shower to get cleaned up before bed. As soon as she heard the water running, Lara rounded on Kurtis.

"What aren't you telling me, Trent? Or, should I say Christian Kline?" she said in a venomous whisper. "And _don't_ say 'nothing'."

"Lara, I can't. It's not that I don't want to, I can't," he said, running a hand through his unruly brown hair.

"Don't think for one second that this is more about you than that little girl, Kurtis!" Lara seethed, jabbing her index finger into his chest as she spoke.

"It is, Lara! It's more about me than you or her know!" he growled at her angrily.

Lara fixed him with an inquiring glare, her brows furrowed and eyes narrowed, trying to grasp onto what he meant by it.

He sighed and spun around, burying his face in his hands before turning to face her again. "Derya," he began. "Is my daughter. Yes, Nazim still thought that he was her biological father. And before you even ask, we didn't have an affair. I've known Akasma since we were kids. Her father was Lux Veritatis."

"We met when my father took me to Turkey as part of my training. Akasma was a Lux Veritatis initiate, but she never got past her first level of training, she just didn't have the mind for it. We lost touch for a long time and then I came back to Turkey on business. I knew that the Lux Veritatis were dying out, as did she. Her father had already been murdered - by Eckhardt, or Karel, as we now presume. We decided that there was only one thing we could do to ensure that the Order could carry on. Nazim's family had no ties to the Order and Akasma had never completed her training, so we knew that any child between them more than likely wouldn't inherit any powers."

"It was all planned. When she was three, Akasma was going to fake Derya's death and send her to live with me in Utah, where I'd train her. It never happened. I called her, I sent emails, still, nothing. I thought they were dead, to be honest. At that point, I had gotten involved in some less than legal activities, working for Gunderson. I don't think I could have left to train her even if Akasma contacted me - I was in way too deep."

Lara contemplated it for a moment before speaking. "We have to get her out of here. I doubt that Karel knows any of that yet, and if he knew that she carries the bloodline of the Lux Veritatis he'd never have kept her alive after killing Akasma and Nazim. I think I know a safe way to get her out of here undetected."

She flipped open her cell again and looked through her address book for the number. "Hello, Andrew," she said in a chipper tone. "Andrew I need a favor from you and boys."

* * *

Lara, Kurtis, and Derya all sat waiting in the rental car as the RAF jet came in for a landing. As it parked a group of men in Special Forces uniforms piled out, rifles at the ready. Lara opened the door and took Derya's hand as the trio walked across the tarmac to the waiting plane.

"Lady Croft, it's good to see you again," said Andrew as he saluted her.

"And you, Andy." she said, returning the salute. "Hello, boys!" she called over his shoulder.

"How was your landing back in Cambodia?" he asked, referring to the last time they'd worked together, when he and his team had sent her Land Rover sailing over an ancient temple with a parachute attached.

"It was a lovely landing," she returned with a smile. "Couldn't have been any smoother."

Andy looked to Derya before speaking again. "We'll keep her safe, Lara. I promise."

"Thank you," Lara said as she watched the soldiers usher Derya onto the plane and take off.

She turned to Kurtis and said softly, "You'll tell her when this is all over, won't you?"

"I have to. I'm her father and she has the right to know." he said, walking back to the car with Lara at his side. "That's so weird to say - 'I'm her father'. I've known all along that I am, but I never really thought much about it. I mean, I haven't had any of those fatherly duties. I never had to feed her, change her diaper, none of that. I almost regret the decision that Akasma and I made, knowing what I'm going to tell her when this is all said and done. I feel terrible that I've never been able to be there for her. I haven't been able to watch her grow up."

"Don't. You haven't been there for her all along, but you're here for her now when she needs you the most." Lara told him as she took the seat behind the wheel.

* * *

Kurtis had dozed off in the passenger seat but awoke suddenly at the sound of gunshots ringing through the air. "What the fuck?" he shouted bluntly.

"It appears someone has caught up with us. I've already phoned the boys to make sure that they're alright and that Derya is safe." Lara told him calmly, weaving back and forth to make sure that none of the bullets found their mark.

He pulled his Boron X from his shoulder holster and detached the laser sight. He rolled down the window and peered out, aiming it at the black Mercedes behind them, still attempting to shoot out their tires. Kurtis aimed for the driver's seat and pressed the button to activate the laser, catching the man square in the eyes. The car swerved and crashed into the rails along the side of the road, steam billowing out of the smashed radiator. A second car took the place of the leaders and floored the accelerator.

"Gun it, Lara! Go faster!" Kurtis shouted over the roar of the engines. "That bastard is going to run us off the road!"

Lara pushed the accelerator down as far as it would go, increasing their speed only slightly. "It's no use, they're too fast!"

"Hold on!" he yelled, bracing for the impending impact.

There was a loud cacophony of metal on metal, tires screeching, and glass breaking as the cars collided, sending Lara and Kurtis over an embankment. They knew that they were going to land on solid ground, and braced themselves further. To their amazement, however, they felt the car splash down into a fast flowing river. They struggled briefly to unlatch their seat belts before grabbing their packs and swimming out through the broken rear windshield. They didn't surface for air, knowing that the mercenaries on their trail were probably standing by the riverbanks, waiting for them to come up.

The men waited, looking for any sign of someone trying to escape, any splashing, any sounds at all - but none came. "They must have drown in the current." One man said, the rest nodding in agreement, knowing that no one could survive the crash and the swim to safety. But these men didn't know Lara Croft and Kurtis Trent….

Lara came up noiselessly, taking in a deep gulp of air and looking up at the star filled sky above before checking to see where Kurtis and the mercenaries were. Suddenly, something thudded into her and she looked down to see Kurtis, floating face down beside her. She grabbed onto his arm and pulled him over to the banks, checking his pulse as she set him down - It was there, but faint. Lara pushed his hair out of his face and began administering CPR - a useful skill in this sort of profession. Kurtis coughed and spluttered as air returned to his lungs, his whole body jerking.

"You all right?" she asked as he took in fresh air.

He coughed again before replying, "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks."

"Come on, let's get out of here before they decide to come looking for our bodies." Lara said, helping Kurtis to his feet. "If they think we survived, they'll be expecting us to head back to Pamukova. They'll probably check every hotel for either of our names, so let's head in the opposite direction. Tarkali is the next nearest town in this direction. If we make it back to the main road we can probably hitchhike our way there."

Kurtis nodded in silent agreement, following her lead. They trudged through the underbrush for several miles before finally coming to a road. Lara stood at the side, her thumb stuck up in the universal hitchhiking sign. Not long after, a dilapidated pick up truck stopped in front of them. The man asked in Turkish where they were heading and motioned to jump in the back when she told him Tarkali.

"You really should stop smoking, you know - you might be able to stay underwater longer." Lara told him as he lit up a cigarette in the back of the truck.

He let out a short laugh before muttering, "Don't hold your breath," and taking a long drag.

"I'm only trying to look out for your well being," she said, ringing out her long braid.

"Ha, don't make me laugh, Croft! My well being. Let's see, we meet at the Louvre - I get knocked out and they made off with my painting -"

"_My_ painting, if you remember correctly. You stole it from me." She interjected.

"Stole? Stole, that's funny coming from you. It's not like you ever really owned it or anything," he replied. "Hey, you're the tomb raider. So where was I, ah right, then in the Strahov I get knocked senseless again and then impaled by a giant mutant… So yeah, I'd say overall the cigarettes aren't quite as bad for my health as you are. You're starting to remind me of Jinx from _Die Another Day_."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm reminding you of Halle Berry?"

"No, not her herself, just the character - how she had that knack for jinxing the people around her." Kurtis laughed, exhaling a cloud of smoke. "Hey, I think we're here."

The truck had pulled off onto the exit and into the city of Tarkali, dropping them off at the first gas station he passed. Lara walked inside, still sopping wet to ask directions to the nearest hotel. The clerk fixed her with a curious stare before giving her the information she'd requested.

"He says there's a motel just up the road," she told Kurtis when she returned to the corner where he stood, arms folded across his chest, a cigarette dangling from his lips.

He went to take a step forward, but not before Lara had reached up to take the offending object from his mouth, throw it on the ground, and extinguish it under the sole of her boot, a smile forming on her lips. "Women," she heard him mutter as they headed off towards the motel.

* * *

"A room for two, please." Kurtis drawled with a heavy French accent. "Name is Pierre De La Port."

The woman behind the desk typed in a few keys before saying, "I'm sorry sir, we only have rooms for one. I could arrange two rooms?"

Kurtis shook his head. "No, one room will do."

He paid cash for the room and he and Lara started walking towards room 133. They opened the door to find the room scarcely furnished - There was a bed, a table with two chairs, a television, and a lamp.

"You can have the bed if you want," Kurtis told Lara, tossing his pack on the chair and taking off his soaked and slightly torn shirt.

"I honestly couldn't care less who sleeps where," she said. "I just want to get out of these clothes and take a shower."

She headed into the small bathroom - It looked like it had missed cleaning after the last fifty guests. There was grime built up on nearly every surface. _At least the towels are fresh,_ she mused, turning on the water. She unlaced her boots and placed them to the side before proceeding to peel off the rest of her wet clothing and hanging it to dry. She stepped in the shower and decided to make it very fast, as the water heater didn't seem to be operational. She dried off with one of the towels and redressed in her undergarments - the only things that had dried out.

Kurtis, still sitting with his shirt off at the small table, another cigarette in his mouth, nearly choked on the smoke as Lara emerged wearing nothing buy a black bra and panties, her leg deeply gashed. "You're hurt,"

"It's only a flesh wound," she replied with a smile.

He laughed, "_And_ you're a _Monty Python _fan?"

"I'm a Brit, of course I'm a _Monty Python_ fan. Have you ever met a Brit who's _not_ a _Monty Python _fan? You might as well just call me a typical stereotypical Brit and get it over with." Lara joked as she unpacked her medical supplies.

"You're only trying to get me to call you that so you've got a legitimate excuse to hurt me." Kurtis replied.

"I've already got a reason to," she said, cleaning her cut. "In Istanbul, when I kissed you. You weren't supposed to kiss back. That was just a cover story."

He laughed. "Oh, that. Yeah, well, I didn't really need CPR back there - I think you were just looking for an excuse to kiss me again."

"I was not," she said, not a hint of indignity in her voice. "And yes, I'd say you really did need the CPR. I wasn't going to let you die."

"You know, the way you pack I'd say you were some kind of klutz or something," Kurtis mused, looking at her stack of supplies.

She smiled. "Actually, I was packing with you in mind. You know, you are the one that got impaled by a giant mutant…"

Lara put the finishing touches on her bandaged leg and crossed the room. "I'm sorry," she said, softly, solemnly, as she traced the exit wound on his abdomen with her fingertips. "I should have looked for you, I should have tried harder."

"Don't apologize," he said, taking her hand in his, their fingers entwining. "I haven't held it against you yet, and I know I never will."

He pulled her closer to him so that she was straddling him in the chair, his wet pants cold against her bare skin. Kurtis closed his eyes and leaned forward, knowing since Paris that this was coming…

"Hmm," he heard her sigh. "_Never Say Never Again_. Now, you're going to catch your death in those clothes."

She slid off of him and sat down at the table as he headed off to the shower. She opened her pack and took out the medallion she'd stolen from the museum. She held onto the chain, spinning the pendant in circles and reached for her cell, hoping that Bryce was correct when he told her that it was 100 waterproofed.. Lara flipped it open and dialed home.

"Hello, Hillary." she said.

"Lara, are you all right?" he asked.

She'd been chased, shot at, taken prisoner, forced off of a road and nearly drowned… "Yes, of course, I'm fine. I just wanted to let you know. I got what I came here for, Zaganos is no longer a problem, and we're on our way to Cappadocia now. How is everything at home?"

"Splendid. Glad to hear from you, of course." he said, a hint of a smile apparent in his voice.

"Well I'd better be going. I'll phone if I need anything, Hilly. Tell Bryce I say hello." she told him.

He wished her a good night and they hung up just as Kurtis emerged from the shower in his boxers. "So, going to tell me what that things for?" he asked of the medallion.

"It's our map." she replied matter-of-factly. "Werner made a mention to it in one of his journals, as did Akasma and her father. I remembered her telling me that she found it there once when she was a girl. Her father took her and she got lost in one of the caves. I think the room she found is the room that we need to find."

"Why did you steal it?" he inquired. "You and Akasma were such great friends, why not just ask to borrow it?"

"Because I was trying not to draw attention to what we're doing here. I thought that it would be the safest way for them. I didn't think…" she said. "I didn't think Karel could be that cruel."

Kurtis knelt in front of her, taking her free hand in both of his. "Don't blame yourself for this, Croft."

And with that he stood up, his actions mirrored by hers. He placed his hands on either side of her face and kissed her, their lips meeting in a soft, passionate kiss. They moved across the room, lips only separating long enough for air and to undress, landing with a soft thud on the worn mattress.

"Well, I suppose we could both sleep here, tonight," Lara whispered softly, her breath tickling his ear.

"Yeah, that could work." Kurtis replied, breathlessly before their lips met again. "That could definitely work."


	9. Cappadocia

**Read 'em and weep... lol. Two chapters in less than two weeks. When I'm good, I'm good ;) lol. Thanks to AKKON and Britt for their feedback on the last chapter - hoping for some more reviews this time around, though - they always lift my spirits and most of them are always good for a laugh ;) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lara Croft, Kurtis Trent, the spiffy hotel in Turkey, the movies/TV shows/books that they might happen to mention, or the other distinctly TR character that _might _make an appearance in this chapter... **

**A/N: And no more _Monty Python_ jokes, I promise. XD**

**Chapter 9**

**Cappadocia**

Blue eyes flickered open to the blurred outlines of tangled sheets and an empty pillow. Kurtis blinked the fog of sleep from his eyes to find no trace of Lara. _I hate when they leave without saying 'good-bye'_, he mused, running a hand through his already unruly hair. He stifled yawn before deciding on a shower, knowing full well that if the tomb raider returned with trouble hot on her heels, he'd rather be refreshed and dressed in his damp clothes from the river than in his current attire - A public exposure charge in Turkey wouldn't look too good on his record...

Kurtis turned on the faucet and stepped into the lukewarm water. He sighed, burying his face in his hands as he let the cool water run over his muscular form. He had the distinct feeling that he'd gotten into far more than he'd bargained for. He was beginning to think that bringing Croft into the maelstrom that was the only life he'd ever known had been a _very_ bad idea, indeed. Had it not been for her, the Kadris' would not have been killed and Derya would be safe. _God, if anything happens to her I'll never forgive myself,_" he thought as the bathroom door creaked open.

"Sorry I didn't wake you," Lara said as he shut off the water and drew back the shower curtain. "I figured you could use the sleep."

"Thanks," Kurtis said with a smirk before leaning in to give her a lingering kiss on the lips. "So, where've you been off to?"

"Accessorizing." she answered, setting a bag down beside the grimy basin, leaving him to change into his new clothes.

He emerged a few moments later wearing olive cargo pants and strapping on his shoulder holster over his gray t-shirt. Kurtis watched on as Lara added a few final touches to her new ensemble - She pulled on her holsters, tightening them securely around her thighs before spinning each of her .45's expertly on her index fingers and sliding them into their respective places.

"You're going out dressed like _that_?" he asked incredulously, taking in her appearance.

Lara was dressed in a tight, black v-neck t-shirt that left a good majority of her midriff exposed with a white tank top underneath and cuffed camouflage cargo shorts. "Of course I'm not," she laughed, removing a long, flowing black skirt from her bag. She slipped it on over her guns before procuring a button up white blouse from the shopping bag and pulling it on.

"When in Rome," she said with a smile, tying her hair into a plait.

"You look like Rachel Weisz in _The Mummy_," Kurtis remarked, thankful that he hadn't ended up looking like Brendan Fraser.

Lara smiled menacingly at him. "Well I thought you'd make a rather good Indiana Jones, but I couldn't find a store in town that sold Fedoras. Now come on, our ride leaves in three quarters of an hour and if we miss it we'll have to wait another two days."

* * *

During her exploration of Tarkali, Lara had come across a bus depot and had purchased tickets for a one-way trip to Cappadocia. They boarded the bus with swarms of tourists, making their way down the narrow bus before taking seats near the emergency exit. Lara and Kurtis stowed their packs - Lara's having been reconfigured into a purse - and settled in, Kurtis sitting closest to the window, just as she'd planned. It wasn't long before a distinguished looking man of about forty stopped beside her seat and checked his tickets.

"I believe these are our seats," he said in an irritated tone, indicating himself and his much younger looking wife.

"I am _so_ sorry!" Lara exclaimed, her accent completely covered by a thick, southern, American one. "Ya see, my husband here is kinda claustrophobic and he _has_ to sit by the window that opens up, just in case, ya know. You shoulda seen him on the plane over here! All the way from Texas to Turkey I kept hearin' him flippin' out about it! Now, I mean, we can give ya your seats here if ya really want 'em, but I'm warnin' ya, ya'll better have brought ear plugs 'cause you ain't gonna wanna listen to 'im all the way to Any-toll-i-ya!"

The man looked over to Kurtis, who smiled apologetically, before saying, "Right then, come along dear. There are seats back here," and moving along.

"Good improvisation, Croft," Kurtis said, his whisper barely audible in her ear.

Lara smiled as his lips brushed her ear, sliding around to form a soft kiss on her cheekbone. She turned to give him a quick kiss before resting her head on his shoulder, her eyes sliding shut as he put an arm around her shoulders.

* * *

Lara's eyes snapped open to see the blurred shape of the many seats in front of her, their occupants mostly sleeping. She yawned quietly before leaning sideways to get her pack from the compartment where she'd stowed it. She unzipped it and rummaged about before finding her phone, which she'd shoved unceremoniously into the pack before leaving the hotel room that morning. Lara flipped it open and activated the GPS function of it, hoping to take a guess at how long until she could get out and stretch her legs. It currently showed them to be just a few hours outside of Nevsehir, where Lara had already arranged lodging for the night. Checking her text messages, Lara found one from Bryce.

**Lara, I've contacted him for you. Says he'd be glad to see you - didn't tell him about your new friend, though. He'll meet you at the museum in the morning. Hope all is well, Bryce. **

She smiled as she read the message - tomorrow was bound to be a _very_ interesting day. Beside her, Kurtis let out a long yawn before stretching his arms towards the ceiling. His eyes opened and he frowned at Lara.

"What?" she asked.

He shrugged. "I was just hoping you'd still be asleep. I went out at about the same time as you, so I've still yet to get to do the whole 'watching you sleep' thing."

"Well that's all very touching, but in case you hadn't noticed, this isn't the time to be romantic. We've got a homicidal maniac bent on world domination after us." she said quietly.

Kurtis laughed. "You've got a point there, sweetheart."

The look Lara shot him at the last word was enough to say 'If looks could kill'. "Let that be the first and last time I ever hear you call me that."

"All right, honey." he replied with a smirk, and then a grimace as Lara's elbow made contact with his stomach.

* * *

"Welcome to Cappadocia," Lara said.

The bus came to a stop in the Nevsehir bus station, depositing the weary travelers under the harsh fluorescent lights. Lara walked to the exit with Kurtis in tow to find the cab that she'd arranged waiting at the curb.

"Mrs. Wilhelmina Harker?" the man asked as they approached.

"Yes, thank you for meeting us." Lara answered. "Jonathan, take my bag, would you, dear?"

Kurtis took Lara's pack from her and smiled. "Of course, Mina."

They made the trip in silence, 'Mina' speaking up only when she told the cabbie which turns to take. The bewildered driver pulled up to the Peri Tower Hotel - one of Nevsehir's finer ones - wondering why Mrs. Harker had given him such an obscure route. Lara, of course, had Karel's me n on her mind and had made sure that the cab was not being followed. She paid the driver and went to the check in, where Bryce had made the reservations.

"Have a nice stay Ms. Thorne." the clerk said before they set off to their room.

"Nice place, Ms. Thorne," Kurtis said, removing his weapons and boots before flopping unceremoniously onto one of the beds. "Or is it still Mrs. Harker, madam vampire?"

Lara smiled, loosening her holsters. "I'm impressed - you know your literature."

"I know my movies. _The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen_." he replied.

"And you're telling me that you didn't know that all of the other characters - Alan Quatermain, Dorian Gray, Captain Nemo - are from Victorian literature?" she asked, untying her boots.

Kurtis merely smirked at her - that smirk that he knew left her weak in the knees. "I'm impressed, you know your films. So, a room for two, huh? Don't trust me after last night?"

She raised an eyebrow at him as she removed her skirt, folding it neatly over a chair. "Hmm, firstly, I never said I trusted you, period. Secondly, last night changed nothing, and lastly, I didn't make the reservations - Bryce did, hence the _Alias_ alias."

"Still not trusting me, then?" he asked softly, crossing the room to where she was unbuttoning her blouse.

She shook her head wordlessly as his hands replaced hers on the button she'd been working at. His hands worked smoothly as the last two buttons unfastened, letting the shirt slide over her strong arms and fall to the floor with a soft rustling noise. Their eyes met a split second before their lips, neither knowing who kissed who first - neither particularly caring.

Lara slid her arms towards his waist, grabbing the bottom of his shirt and tugging it over his head. Kurtis replied by kissing her more hungrily, his tongue exploring the deep abyss of her mouth as she fought to keep her composure. His fingers found the hem of her shirt and in one quick movement, the black t-shirt and the tank top fell to the floor. She moaned softly into his mouth as his hands wandered over her body. _Damnit, last night was on a fair playing field, _she told herself. _Well, if he wants to play dirty, so can I..._

She waited until his hands slid to her bra and put a hand on the muscles of his upper torso, pushing hard, fast. Kurtis toppled back onto the bed, looking at her inquisitively as she turned towards the bathroom.

"Thanks for helping me undress. I was just about to head to the shower anyway." Lara replied, her expression deadpan as she disappeared into the bathroom. _This must be _killing_ him!_

Not more than thirty seconds after she'd stepped into the thankfully hot water, she heard the door open. Kurtis leaned his head into the shower, the water flattening hair in his face.

"I was going to call 'dibs' on the shower. Since you didn't give me the opportunity to stake my claim, I suggest it's only fair that I join you before all of the hot water runs out." he breathed in her ear.

"This is the sort of hotel where the hot water _doesn't_ run out, Kurtis." she answered, her voice approximately 100º colder than the water.

"It's the principal of the matter, Lara." Kurtis responded.

He finished undressing and stepped into the shower, the water soothing muscles that had been cramped from remaining stationary all day. For a long moment they stood there, the water raining down on them, neither believing how naked they felt in that moment. Kurtis made the first move, placing a hand on the side of Lara's face to draw her closer to them, their eyes meeting fleetingly before they kissed. Their bodies pressed as close together as was possible as their lips fell into synch in a warm, passionate kiss. It wasn't a kiss of lust or of hunger. There was no more power struggle. The only warring was in each combatants mind, both fighting off the feeling that each had unknowingly vowed themselves to avoid at any and all costs. Without a word they slid to the tiled floor and sat against the wall, wrapped in each others arms, the hot water still pounding their skin.

Kurtis moved a strand of wet hair from Lara's face before kissing her lightly on the forehead. "How'd we let this get so far?"

She buried her face in his chest with a shrug. "I'm not sure, but I don't think I want to turn back just yet."

"No, neither do I." he replied softly, wrapping his arms more tightly around her. "Come on, we have to get some sleep."

They dried off and fell into bed, still embracing. Lara yawned and smiled, giving Kurtis a fleeting kiss as her eyelids slid shut. Kurtis smiled to himself and lay there beside her for a long while, watching her sleep until the blackness consumed him, dragging him into sleep's warm embrace.

* * *

The next morning found Lara and Kurtis marching up to the Nevsehir Museum, their contact standing just outside the front door.

"Lara," he said, sounding happy to see her.

"Alex," she replied, no hint of their former relationship - apart from the break up - apparent in her voice. "I see you're actually doing respectable work now?"

Alex West shrugged at her comment. "I guess you could say that. So, who's your friend?"

"This is Kurtis Trent. Kurtis, meet Alex West - the usually greedy, unscrupulous sell out I told you about." said Lara. "Now, are you going to help us or not?"

He led them into the museum and down a series of corridors until they came to his office. Alex pushed open the door and sat down behind his desk, procuring a folder from the top drawer and placing it in front of Lara. She opened it and gazed at the documents inside - a series of maps, inventories, and a list of all of the current excavations in Cappadocia. One in particular stood out to her - Zelve, and it was being funded by a private, anonymous individual. _Karel,_ _no doubt_.

"Lara, could I have a word with you?" Alex said, breaking her from her intent study of the paper. "Alone, that is."

Kurtis nodded and left the room, leaving Lara and Alex alone for the first time in over four years.

"I know I was stupid, but did you really have to drag your new boyfriend halfway around the world to rub it in my face?" he asked bitterly.

Lara glared at him fiercely. "You think that's what this is about, Alex? Well it's not. I didn't even plan on coming here, but I remembered hearing you'd found work in this region and I needed help. You're the only person I could trust, and even then, 'trust' isn't exactly a word I should use lightly with you. You've betrayed me how many times?"

"I thought we were going to let bygones be bygones, Lara," said Alex. "What is it you're after anyway? Another priceless trinket? Trying to save the world?"

"Perhaps." Lara replied, her gaze never faltering.

Alex rubbed the back of his neck before speaking again. "I heard about Terry. I'm sorry."

"Yes, well you did warn me about him, didn't you?" she said, her voice icy.

"Be careful, Lara. I've stayed as far out of this guy's way as possible. I was afraid he'd heard about my past and was going to recruit me, and well, guys like him... you just don't turn them down when they hire you or you won't live to warn the next guy." Alex told her, his voice filled with concern.

"Thank you, Alex. Your help is greatly appreciated and I'd love to stay and chat, but I've got business to attend to." Lara said, her voice nondescript again as she picked up the file and exited the room.

"Can we trust him?" Kurtis asked her quietly as they left the museum.

"I hope so," she replied, hoping desperately that they could.

* * *

"Well we've got one-up on them already," Lara said as they approached the entrance. "They're digging in the wrong place."

"And how do you know that?" Kurtis asked, pushing aside the stone that Lara said was covering the entrance.

Lara turned on the light attached to the strap of her pack - one of the newest gadgets Bryce had equipped her with - and dropped down into the shaft. "Because, this, Kurtis, is the entrance that Akasma told me about. This is the one in her notebooks."

He checked once more to make sure no one was watching and dropped down after her, her light leading their way. Lara had taken Akasma's notebook from her pack and followed the path exactly until they came to a slight problem.

"This tunnel is collapsed," she said, noting the rocks blocking her path ahead. "We'll have to find another way around."

She removed the light from where it sat at her shoulder, walking the path back in a grid pattern, as a forensic investigator would canvas a crime scene. About halfway to their starting point she found an intricately carved square in the rock to her left. She studied the Latin writing on it for a second before reading the translation aloud.

"_And the Light of Truth Spread Further Under Ground, Illuminating the Vast Halls Where The Demons Slept. It Poured Through Wood, Steel, and Rock and When It Reached It's Destination, Filled the Chambers With a Sparkling Emerald Fire._" she read, placing her palm on the stone and pushing it until it was flush with the roughly hewn wall.

She and Kurtis listened as a panel slid aside, fighting to determine where it was coming from. A small pebble hit Kurtis on the shoulder and he looked up to see a passage opened above them. Lara jumped and grabbed onto the rough wall, swinging her other arm towards a handhold above it and pulling herself up. She climbed along the narrow tunnel until it came to a landing. Lara climbed onto it, sitting a moment to rest while Kurtis followed her into the shaft.

"How the hell did Akasma climb up that thing?" he asked, knowing that she had only been eleven when she'd made her way into the tunnels.

"She didn't have to. It said in her journals that there was an excavation here at the time when she found the Sanctuary of the Light. They used dynamite to blast their way through one of the walls and a digger was killed, so they abandoned the site until the legalities were cleared up. She snuck in and went through the tunnel that they'd found - that tunnel probably being the collapsed one directly below us." Lara told him.

They crawled along the tunnel until Lara came to a downward slope. She pointed it out to Kurtis and slid down, ready to dodge any obstacles that might be waiting. Blades jutted out at her ankles, causing her to launch into a front flip, landing just inches past them, sliding further into the abyss.

"Lara!" Kurtis cried out as she vanished from sight.

"It's all right! I'm fine. Slide down, but watch out - that first step's a killer. Make sure to clear those blades - I don't want to have to deal with any amputations at the moment." she yelled back from where she'd made a rough but safe landing at the bottom. "Now we're getting to the good part."

* * *

**Ok, so above all else I need feedback on Alex.** **Should he stay? Should he go? If he stays, should he be good or bad? Ugh. I originally had NO intention of putting him in there at all, but after mentioning him in Ch. 2, it just seemed like too good of a setup NOT to use it lol. In retrospect, however, I'm thinking it might've been a bad move... lemme know. Peace out. :**


	10. A Leap of Faith

**Disclaimer: Guess what? I still don't own Lara or Kurtis. :P**

A/N: Thanks for hanging in there, sorry this took so long!

Chapter 10

Into The Abyss

"Well isn't this charming," Kurtis said, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he joined Lara on a ledge leading to nowhere. "What's the next step?"

Lara glowered at him, eyebrows raised. "If I'd thought of that, don't you think I'd have told you already?"

Kurtis backed away, hands up in mock surrender. "There's still the possibility that you don't entirely trust me."

"Right now I have no reason not to," Lara responded, examining the walls. "Although, there is the fact that you've been lying to me all along."

He turned to look at her, forehead creased in astonishment. "I have been?"

"Yes, you have been, Mr. Trencavel," she said, her eyes meeting his in the beam of her PLS.

"When I got home from Prague I had Bryce do a background check on you, see if we couldn't track your movements if you were still alive - that's how we knew about Christian Kline. He found that there was no Kurtis Trent prior to 1991 when you joined the Foreign Legion. I had him keep looking for anyone that might have disappeared, slipped through the cracks, as it were, around that timeframe and voila! There was Kurtis Trencavel. Why all the secrecy? The lies? What are you trying to hide?"

Kurtis closed his eyes, apparently not too keen on taking this unexpected trip down memory lane. He sat down on the ledge, looking out into solid darkness. _"_Trouble seems to track down any other Trencavel I know. I was just laying low."He looked up to see Lara heading back towards the slope. She ran onto it and kicked off, propelling herself back out towards the ledge, only higher. _She's going to go over the edge!_ Kurtis thought as he watched her fly through the air. At the last second she grabbed onto a barely visible ledge running above their heads.

Lara's strong fingers grabbed onto the smooth stone and latched on. She planted her boots firmly against the wall, a bit disgruntled that there was no footholds below her. The fingers of her left hand reached into the ledge and touched something grainy and powdery.

"Toss me your lighter!" she called down to Kurtis, who complied, sending the small metal object sailing.

She caught it and ignited it, putting it to the powder above her and dropping down from the ledge as soon as it caught. Lara landed softly and looked up as scarlet flames set out , traveling ahead of them and behind, going around a curve above the slope. Kurtis took a few steps forward, his face lit in the harsh red light and there was a low rumbling. He stepped back, expecting the floor to collapse beneath him, but instead, the flames above went out. He turned to look at Lara, who merely shrugged. There was a loud rushing noise and the flames erupted, much higher than this time, shooting out emerald.

A long hallway became visible. There were no traps, no obstacles of any kind, just a highly polished floor of what appeared to be red marble. Lara examined it from a distance, looking for any sign of danger. Kurtis moved over to the edge and had begun to drop down when she saw it.

"Wait!" she exclaimed. "That floor doesn't appear to be entirely stable. Look, there's a crack, just there."

Lara took a glow stick from her pack and activated it, stepping to the end of the platform and dropping it. To their astonishment, it didn't clatter to the floor below, but illuminated the shadow cast by the platform they were standing on, revealing, that it wasn't a shadow at all, but a large gap.

"We'll have to climb down," Kurtis said, noting the roughly hewn rock below. "Got another glow stick?"

She tossed him one and he rigged it into the strap of his shoulder holster. Lara looked down, the dark face of the wall illuminated in the beam of her light.

"Right then, this should be fun." she said, climbing down and placing her foot in the first gap she could reach.

The pair moved quickly, purposefully down the rock face. Lara detached her light to take a better look at the surface below her. She clipped it back in place and took a deep breath, pushing off from the wall, her legs behind her and her arms outstretched. She fell for several long seconds before her fingers latched onto an outcropping. Lara kicked out at the wall, looking for a foothold and finding none. A small cloud of dust and pebbles showered Lara's face and a sickening _crack _met her ears. She began looking more furiously, finally looking down. It was a long way down, but chances were slight that it would be fatal... The ledge gave way under her fingertips, sending her sailing once more. A few feet before impact, Lara felt a hand grab at her back, slowing her speed and allowing her to roll safely onto the cold stone floor.

Lara sat back, catching her breath, as she saw Kurtis about twenty feet above her. He climbed down a few more feet before letting go, landing in a crouching position at her feet with a smirk across his face.

"Be more careful next time, why dontcha?" he remarked, holding out a hand to help her up.

She gave him irritated look before standing up on her own power and brushing the dust from her clothes. Kurtis took a few steps forwards and the black area before him erupted into the same green fire that burned above and he couldn't believe what he saw. They heard gears begin to grind behind walls and a set of wooden spears sprang up from the floor, met quickly by an offset grouping from the ceiling, blocking their path.

"You have got to be kidding me," he said, gazing through the rapidly moving spears and down the seemingly endless corridor.

"That floor there, that's a pitfall. See how it's tiled, not rough like the floor here?" Lara said from his side.

Kurtis let out a deep sigh as he looked towards the pile of rubble from the broken ledge. "Still sure about this?"

"Absolutely," she replied with a smile.

His eyes slid shut and his arms raised, outstretched towards the boulders. The largest of the pieces began to tremble slightly before it shot into the air, hovering half way between the floor and the ceiling. Kurtis brought it around so that it was in position between himself and the spears and made a thrusting motion with his arm, sending the rock flying. It shot through the middle of the spears, leaving behind it a mess of splintered wood that continued to make half-hearted attempts to impale whomsoever might cross the newly forged path. Lara led the way, twisting her way through the shards and coming to a stop at the end, gazing out at the next obstacle.

Lara took a step towards the marble tiles. The emerald fire reflected off of the floor, illuminating a path of green tiles in between the myriad of other colors. She stepped forward and began to take the first step onto the green tile closest to her, stopping as Kurtis stepped closer and the light changed once more.

"It's not marble - those are jewels," he stated as yellow flames flickered high above. "Those tiles that were green before, now they're yellow. Those are probably opal. The stones that are green now are blue without the light. It's still a path, but it'll be a bit tougher."

"Right, I'll go first," Lara replied, stepping lightly on the first green marker with no difficulty.

She leapt to the next one and a whirring noise and a cloud of dust caught her attention. She looked to the right and launched herself onto the next stone, just in time to keep her head attached to her neck as a blade came spinning out from the wall beside her. From there, she marked her path as quickly as possible and leapt to the next marker, jumped a blade as it made a swipe at her feet, and then placed her palms flat on the top of the next blade that targeted her, using it to vault herself into the air, twirling gracefully as she stuck the landing, facing back towards Kurtis on the other side.

"There's no way I can flip like that!" he called across, placing both feet on the first step of the perilous path.

After the first blade, Kurtis noticed something Lara hadn't - the stones split into two possible paths, the other was somewhat more direct, albeit meant for someone with strong, long legs. It also took him closer to the paths of the blades, if he was wrong. Kurtis leapt to the next stone and made it, although his left foot clipped the corner of the stone behind him as he landed. There was a clashing sound and a series of blades swung down from the ceiling. He ran, full tilt, towards the platform where Lara stood waiting for him, ducking and rolling from the blades as the floor behind him crumbled. Lara braced herself and extended both arms towards him as he kicked off from a piece of the floor just before it tumbled away. He caught on with both hands and Lara pulled as hard as she could, sending her falling onto the hard floor beneath, Kurtis toppling down onto her from the force.

"Get off of me!" she complained. "I can't breathe!"

Kurtis rolled off her and sat up, an incredulous look on his face. "Well you weren't complaining about that the other night... Are you calling me fat?"

"Oh no, why would I ever say such a thing?" Lara replied sarcastically. "You're bleeding, but the way. Did you know?"

He raised a hand and wiped up the blood on his arm that flowed from a wide gash just below his shoulder. Lara opened her pack and pulled out a roll of gauze and an antibiotic ointment. She dressed the wound, packed up, and turned back towards the pit behind them. Had there not been any movement, it would have appeared to go on forever.

"What is that shit?" Kurtis asked at the churning black liquid beneath.

Without a word, Lara reopened her pack and pulled out her skirt, lowering it so that it brushed the liquid. When she pulled it out, she saw that the hem was smoking and several inches had burnt off.

"Acid. You _don't_ want to see what this stuff will do to flesh," she replied, a mental image of Jonathan Reiss clawing one last time at Pandora's Box flashing into her mind.

"Ouch," Kurtis replied. "Who was he?"

Lara had, of course, neglected to take into consideration the fact that Kurtis had free entry into her mind. "An evil man with evil motives. He got his comeuppance."

She discarded the skirt in the pool and moved towards a wide section of the hallway, examining it for traps and finding none. As soon as Lara stepped down, the lights dimmed and she could hear the stone scraping against the floor.

"Run!" she called back to Kurtis and they both took off down the corridor.

They made it to the end to find... "Nothing! There's nothing here!" Kurtis shouted.

"That doesn't make any sense!" Lara shouted back, the walls closing closer together around them. "There's got to be something!"  
"No! There isn't! It's a dead end!" he said, hopelessly. "We might be able to make it back if we run fast enough."

Lara looked at him through the inky blackness and then turned to face the black wall in front of them. "You can run if you'd like, but I think I'm going to take a leap of faith."

Her arms flew out to her side and she propelled herself forward in a perfect swan dive. Kurtis watched as she vanished into the darkness, hoping to see her roll onto the floor or at least hear it, but there was no trace of her.

"Lara! Damnit, she'd better be right about this," he said, looking back at the narrowing gap before diving forwards into the dark.


	11. The Emerald Key

**Disclaimer: you know the drill - I own nothing. Nothing, do you hear me? Not Lara, not Kurtis, nothing. **

**A/N: Sorry it took so long on this one - WRITER'S BLOCK:\. It's gone now, though. I've actually already started on Ch. 12. (P.S. I 3 reviews ;) )**

**Chapter 11**

**The Emerald Key**

Kurtis tumbled through the darkness and hit the floor rolling. He stood up slowly, casting an uneasy glance around. He raised his hands directly in front of his face but could see nothing. _What the fuck? Am I blind?_ he questioned, searching the non-existent horizon for any outlines - objects, columns, people...

"Lara?" he asked into the darkness, only to find the it so dense that his own voice didn't reach his ears.

He outstretched his arms to prevent walking into anything and stepped forward. He took another step, and another, and another. _I'm dead,_ he told himself. _Leap of faith, ha. Leap of death is more likely._ Kurtis walked on for what felt like hours, finally collapsing in a heap on the still invisible floor. It was smooth and cold, like marble. He traced his fingers over what felt like metal in a smooth, curved line. Curious, he stood once more and kept walking. It took only a few more steps before he stumbled down a small ledge and with a blinding flash and a roaring noise above, countless torches lit up simultaneously.

"Holy shit," he muttered, finally able to hear himself, as well as his footsteps echoing off of the floor.

He turned around and could see the outlines of the walls that had slammed shut just behind him. As soon as he caught sight of it, his mind started racing. Where was Lara? Kurtis looked around all of the pillars, ignoring the glint cast by the jewels set into all of the frescoes on the walls, and the eerie shadows that danced across the marble.

"Lara! Lara, where are you?" Kurtis called.

"Over here," Lara replied softly, walking towards a series of perfectly preserved frescoes.

Kurtis moved forward to wrap his arms around her, but she pulled away. He gave her a quizzical look as she moved towards the next section of the wall. She traced her fingers over the illustrations with a melancholy look.

"This is why you asked me to help, isn't it?" she stated, turning back to look at him.

He raised an eyebrow at her before looking at the painting more closely.

"You know, it would be nice to have a clue what you were talking about every once in a while."

"That's _me_! That woman in the fresco! She's in all of them!" she seethed.

"Yeah, but she looks nothing like you. Oh, and need I mention that she's got _wings_?" Kurtis replied, pointing at the angel.

"And you've never heard the word 'metaphor' before, hm?" Lara shot back, one eyebrow cocked at him.

In two equally swift movements, Kurtis was staring down the barrels of two locked and loaded .45's and Lara found herself with the muzzle of his Boron X pointed right between her eyes.

"Please start making sense before one of us takes a bullet to the brain," Kurtis said through gritted teeth.

Lara glared at him, trigger fingers tempted to begin applying pressure. "You first. This isn't coincidence anymore - you and I both know it. What the hell is going on here?"

"You're going to shoot me if I don't come up with a good enough answer? So go ahead, shoot. I don't have one, ok! You think you're in the dark? I asked for your help because you're the only person I know that can do this sort of stuff. Chances are, I'd have died in a few different places back there if it weren't for you. Now, are you going to tell me why your metaphorical self in a bunch of paintings is so disturbing to you?" he said, inflecting as much emotion into his voice as was possible.

They both lowered their guns and brought them down to their sides and stepped over to the wall. "You're going to have to tell me what they say - I can't decipher the symbols." Lara told him, looking at the first.

The fresco depicted an angel falling from the sky into snowcapped mountains. "It says, '_An angel will fall and with her she will bring hope'."_

After that began a series of portraits of the same angel - riding a horse, shooting a bow and arrow, wielding a sword.

"'_Hope through strength. Hope through power.'"_ Kurtis read. "What's this?" Kurtis asked pointing at a picture of the figure kneeling before an ornate gold chest.

"Ark of the Covenant." she stated flatly.

He looked at her and gave her an amused look. "Are you sure?"

"Very," she replied, looking at the next paintings. "Atlantis and the Scion. The Dagger of Xi'an. The Iris. The Eye of Horus. The Triangle of Light. Pandora. The Amulet of Power..."

She paused and traced her fingers over the Amulet before glancing at Kurtis.

"You ok?" he asked.

"You know, if it weren't for this, I'd never have gone to Paris." Lara told him. "I'm sorry, this is just strange. I've had some extremely odd stuff happen in my life, but I'd never have guessed that any of it had been preordained."

Lara moved to the last painting in line. There was a man in Lux Veritatis armor standing over the body of the angel.

"God," Kurtis breathed, his eyes racing back and forth making sure he'd read it right. "This can't happen. You're getting on the first flight back to England. Let's go."

"What does it say?" she asked as he turned to pick up their belongings.

"It doesn't matter, we're going." he returned, shrugging on his pack.

Lara turned around and glared at him. "Tell me what it says. I'm a big girl, I think I can handle it."

"It says, '_And in the final battle, she will fall at the hands of he who slays demons, and peace will shield the earth'._" the Demon Hunter said, his eyes meeting hers. "I can't."

She reached out and placed her hand on the side of his face. "This is what you've fought for your whole life. For peace. For the Nephilim to be erased forever. You can't let me stand in your way. If I have to do to set things right, so be it."

"That's where your wrong. I haven't spent my whole life doing this. I ran away. I changed my name. I didn't want to be a Trencavel, I didn't want to be a Lux Veritatis. I didn't want to be me." he told her, adding softly, "I can't lose you, Lara." as he took her hand in his.

Lara broke their contact and walked resolutely back towards the wall. "What's this?" she asked, examining another illustration of the same angel, but without wings. There were strange markings and patterns behind her instead of a location, and she wielded a large staff of some sort.

"It doesn't say what it is and those markings aren't like anything I've ever seen before," Kurtis said, joining her at the fresco.

"I'm not going home. I'm not going to run away from this. Seeing this... I know this is my destiny. I could have stopped all of that from happening, but didn't. I never _had_ to go searching for any of those artifacts, but I did. If I die, I die, but at least it will have been for a greater good." Lara stated resolutely, her voice free of emotion as she spoke. "We can save the world, Kurtis. I think that's far more important than a solitary life."

He nodded in accord. "It can't be that simple. We came here looking for a key, remember?"

"And Akasma's notes said something about the jewels in the walls," Lara added.

She began to examine them in silence before turning around and looking at the floor. The gold inlay in the marble formed a pattern. Where had she seen the pattern before? She followed the design until she found it - The All-Seeing Eye. Lara gasped in surprise - did the Lux Veritatis have anything to do with the Illuminati? Kurtis joined her and slid off the ring that he wore. Lara took it and examined the design - it was the same pattern intertwined with the Illuminati designs.

"This depicts a planetary alignment," he said. "That's the only thing I knew ahead of time. My father told me about it when he gave me the ring. I knew that it was coming up. That's when Karel is going to raise them. It's the only time it can happen in this millennium. It's two days from now."

"He's a few years late - the alignment already happened. This eye, this is the All-Seeing Eye. It's a symbol of the Illuminati. You probably recognize it from the back of your one dollar bill." Lara said, still eyeing the design.

"I know about the Illuminati. My grandfather and my father were both members." he said, watching her. "That's why I was so interested in working with you, Lara. I wanted to know if you were anything like him. I wanted to know if there was even the slightest chance that you might be Lux Veritatis yourself. I've met your father. I was very young, but I still remember him. I knew that he and my father shouldn't have anything to do with the Order. Karel had been trying to get his feet wet with them for years and my family had been watching him in case he tried to take over or to influence them into helping to raise his brethren. He'd been telling them to ignore the alignment you're talking about and focus on this one. Lucky for all of humanity, they were too obsessed with the Triangle of Light and controlling time to pay too much attention to him."

"Why didn't you tell me this before?" she asked.

Kurtis shrugged slightly. "I guess I just didn't want to screw this up off the bat. I wanted to make sure you trusted me before I told you so that you wouldn't think I was making it up."

Lara said nothing, instead pulled the medallion out of her neckline and slid it over her head. She walked forward to the center of the Eye, and saw it immediately. There was a perfect reverse outline of the medallion. She placed it in the niche and pressed down. Instantly, a bright green light shot out from somewhere on the opposite end of the room. The light caught on the jewels and shone all around.

"Where's the source?" Kurtis asked.

"I'm not sure," Lara replied. "But I've suddenly got a very bad feeling about this."

Her instincts proved correct - as soon as she'd spoken a sword came spinning towards her head. Lara ducked and rolled out of the way, drawing her pistols as she did so, firing into the chest of the undead warrior. She looked around as he fell and saw dozens more headed straight towards them.

"Do something!" Lara cried.

"What?" Kurtis shot back. "What am I supposed to do!"

"I'm not sure, but they _are_ your ancestors, are they not?" she yelled over the firing of both of their weapons.

Kurtis stopped firing and sent the Chirugai whirling. If that wasn't enough, One of the nights halted as he raised his sword, seeing the torn sleeve of Kurtis's t-shirt. Underneath a bloodstained bandage stopped directly below a simple black tattoo - the symbol of the Lux Veritatis.

"Trencavel," Kurtis said. "Meus nomen est Trencavel."

The knights all knelt with the creaking of their armor, bowing their heads on the hilts of their swords.

"Deus existo te, meus filius," _God be with you, my son,_ the Knight nearest Kurtis spoke, his voice choked, dusty, and the most unnatural sound that either of them had ever heard.

He stood with the creaking and clacking of armor and bones and removed his chest plate- a heavy metal piece embossed with the same symbol from Kurtis's arm. Below it there was a crest that he recognized instantly as the Trencavel family crest. The warrior stared intently at Kurtis with eyeless sockets as the flesh and blood Lux Veritatis put on the plate and helmet. As he finished, the knight held out his sheathed sword and bowed his head. Kurtis took the offered weapon and strapped it on.

"Konstantin ero superbus. Deus ero vobis in vicis , meus filius," _Konstantin will be proud. God will be with you in time, my son,_ he repeated, placing a skeletal hand on Kurtis' shoulder. "Ut mos nos." _As will we._

"Nos peto," Kurtis began, realizing he could not think of a Latin word for key. "Nos peto le cléf!" _We seek the key!_

Lara gave him a quizzical look. "French?"

"Yeah, Trencavel is a French name." Kurtis replied, awaiting the knight's answer.

"Peto radix," _Seek the source, _he told them.

He fixed Kurtis with one last look and then he and the rest of the long dead warriors melded back into the recesses from whence they'd come. _Where is it coming from?_ Kurtis asked himself, looking around to see several bright points around the room. He ran to one and noticed that it was merely reflecting the original beam. Lara watched on as Kurtis went from fresco to fresco, following the angles that the light was reflecting from until he found what he was looking for.

"Bernard Ato VI," Kurtis said softly, examining the man's glowing green eye. "He was the first Lux Veritatis member from our family. There were four founding families - The Trencavels, Limouxs, De Combels, and the Guilhelms."

Lara looked at the portrait in astonishment - had she ever doubted Kurtis' lineage, the likeness between the man in the portrait and the man before her would have erased it completely. Kurtis summoned his Chirugai and used one of the five blades to remove the stone from the eye. He turned it over in his hand, examining it's smooth, still faintly glowing surface.

Kurtis removed the sword from it's sheath at his side and examined the hilt. There was a faint outline, which, upon further investigation, was beveled at a slight angle. He lifted the Key and set it against the line - a perfect match.

"Is it supposed to do something?" Kurtis asked, trying to connect the key to the sword.

"Perhaps it has to be in the lock first?" she suggested. "But where is that?"

Lara pulled out her mobile phone and hit the speed-dial. There were two rings before an explosion shook the room and the shots rang out.


	12. I Never Told You What I Do For A Living

**Disclaimer: Hey, guess what? I don't own Lara, Kurtis, Karel, or even Alex! I don't make any money from this either, so please, don't suit. :P**

**A/N: Wow, that took longer than expected... oops. :\**

**Chapter 12**

**I Never Told You What I Do For A Living**

"Duck!" Kurtis shouted, grabbing Lara's arm and pulling her behind a pillar.

She peered around to see several men rappelling from a gaping hole in the ceiling. "Up there!"

Kurtis nodded and sent his Chirugai sailing through the dusty air. It made as straight as possible of a path through the columns and hanging torches, finding it's target in the ropes of four men. All of them hit the marble with resounding thuds and only one managed to survive the fall. He stood up, taking aim at Kurtis, who had appeared from behind the pillar. Kurtis lowered his Boron X, giving the man a smirk and a mock salute as the Chirugai sliced his throat wide open.

"Did you have to make such a mess?" Lara shouted, opening fire on then men that followed their comrades.

"We need more fire power!" Kurtis yelled back.

He raised his arms and two AK-47's came flying from the bodies on the floor and towards him. He caught both and tossed one to Lara.

"I know my Chirugai is cool and all," Kurtis said as he checked the magazine, "but nothing beats a Kalashnikov when you absolutely have to kill everything in the room!"

Lara checked her magazine and they both flung themselves into open view, firing as they turned. Kurtis leveled the first row of men, summoning their guns as they fell. He reloaded and fired again as Lara ducked a series of dangerously close bullets.

"You're scary with that thing, you know!" She shouted over the rapid firing of her weapon as she took out a few more mercenaries.

His laugh was barely discernable over the shots. "This is just another day at the office for me!"

"And to think - I thought writing travel books was exciting." Lara returned.

The next thing she knew, she was being flung off of her feet. "Lara!" Kurtis shouted as she sailed through the air. Her back slammed into a pillar and the room went black.

"LARA!" Kurtis shouted again as she lay there, blood trailing from the corner of her lips.

He turned his attention from her and leveled yet more of the mercenaries that threatened to corner him. He fired intently, not letting his finger off of the trigger until the chamber clicked - empty. He drew his Boron X and fired blindly, killing only one before it too emptied.

"Relax, Mr. Trent," said a chillingly cool voice. "No one else need be hurt if you follow my directions. Now, hand me your weapons."

Kurtis glared vehemently at the Nephilim before him and sent his Chirugai at his throat with as much strength as he could muster. The weapon shot around Karel's neck, crashing into a pillar and dropping to the floor with a resonating clanging. Karel grinned as he sent a wave of energy slamming into Kurtis' chest. His feet left the floor and his back slammed against a pillar, his body landing in a heap next to Lara. He glanced at her for a second before the room went red, gray, and then black.

* * *

Kurtis awoke with his head still throbbing in the back of a van. He attempted to rub the sore spot at the back of his skull, only to find his hands tied firmly behind his back. Through bleary eyes, he could see Lara sitting a few feet away, flanked by guards and looking thoroughly displeased. 

_Calm down,_ he told her. _You're just going to piss them off, and quite frankly, my dear, I'd like to find out what the hell is going on here._

Lara took a deep breath and he saw her relax a bit. She nodded slowly in his direction to confirm that she understood and then rested her head against the wall of the van.

"Are we there yet?" Kurtis asked - his guard replied by delivering a hard jab to the ribs with the wooden end of his AK-47. "Hey, I was just asking a civilized question. Are we slightly close?"

"Shut the hell up," the man responded, his accent Slavic. "Before I shoot you with the other end."

"We're almost there, Mr. Trent. And then I'll explain everything." Joachim Karel said from the front seat.

He turned around to face his hostages and ran a long, thin finger across Lara's bloodied cheek. She shuddered under his touch and Kurtis could tell she was trying her hardest to restrain herself.

"She's a feisty one, isn't she?" he said, his finger trailing on her chin. "You might have some competition if she didn't keep trying to kill me with her silly mortal weapons."

"Sod off." Lara spat.

Karel feigned a concerned look. "Oh, what's that dear?"  
"Leave her alone!" Kurtis said firmly. "Pick on someone your own size, why dontcha?"

"Only too gladly," he replied. "When the time comes, Mr. Trent."

Kurtis opened his mouth as if to reply, only to be met with a swift motion from beside him followed by the gun cracking against his already sore skull. For the second time that day, everything went dark.

* * *

Lara sat in one corner of the dark, musky cell that she'd been forced into, blindfolded and bruised. She watched as in the center of the rocky floor, Kurtis began to stir. _About time,_ she mused as he came to, rubbing the back of his head. 

"Are you all right?" she asked, kneeling beside him.

"It feels like someone's been using my head as a drum, but other than that, I'm fine. You?"

"Fine," she replied. "We're still in Zelve, I think. I'm pretty sure this is one of the sites that was in the files that Alex gave me."

Kurtis raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you still sure he's on our side?"

"Not 100, no, but despite the fact that we constantly end up on rival teams, I know Alex West. He wouldn't intentionally hand us over to the enemy. He's had plenty of opportunities to do it to me before and never has." Lara told him, hoping to herself that she was right.

"Yeah, well I did get the impression that you'd left him pretty heartbroken," he implied.

Before Lara had a chance to confront him about his eavesdropping, the heavy metal door slid open, hitting the stops with a crash. A large man in a navy jumpsuit stood on the other side aiming his pistol at Kurtis's head.

"She comes with me," the man demanded, seizing Lara's upper arm and dragging her onto her feet. "My employer would like a word with you, Lady."

Lara grudgingly obliged and allowed herself to be handcuffed and dragged off down the rocky corridor. She marked the way mentally as she was brought deeper and deeper into the complex, noting which paths they took so as not to get lost. The man suddenly placed a hand on her back, shoving her forward into a vast cavern. There were ledges all around with dwellings carved into the rock. She was now standing on one of these ledges and looking both up and down into an abyss. There was construction equipment, teams of archaeologists working below her, and standing to her right, Joachim Karel.

"Good evening, Lady Croft," he said circling her. "I'm glad you agreed to meet my demands."

"I've done no such thing. I agreed to speak with you, but that was only to prevent a bullet burying itself in my brain." Lara spat back.

His lips turned up into a thin smile. "Tell me, do you think often about your own human mortality? Or is it only when it is threatened?"

"Hm, haven't we been through this once already?" she countered with a coy smile.

"Yes, but the stakes were quite a bit different then," Karel said with a chuckle. "Have you thought about that offer?"

"And why exactly would I? I thought I killed you." Lara said flatly.

Karel raised an eyebrow and stopped, closing the gap between them in one short stride and forcing her back against the rough stone wall.

"That's exactly what you want, isn't it? For me to just go away?" he said with a short, vehement laugh. "That's not going to be happening anytime soon, my dear," - he paused, his expression changing to a thoughtful, almost ponderous mood, before he leaned in to whisper in her ear - "You're lucky I find you an anomaly. Otherwise, I might just be tempted to kill you."

"I think we'd both be much better off if you just got it over with." Lara hissed, the sharp rocks pressing hard into her back as she leaned farther back from the faux human .

He smiled again and backed off, turning his back to her and looking out over the vast expanse. "If you join me Lara, we can rule the world. Forever."

"And if I say no?" Lara asked.

"I do hope you mean that as a rhetorical question. I have so much to offer and ask so little in return. You fascinate me, Lara. I've lived amongst humans for years and have never seen a specimen such as yourself." Karel said softly, meeting her gaze.

Lara raised an eyebrow at him before speaking, "A specimen? Is that what I am to you? A science experiment? I was hoping for something a bit more romantic - 'nemesis', 'thorn in your side', even 'pest' would be nice."

"Consider my offer. It you take it, you might live long enough to see tomorrow." he shot at her.

"If tomorrow includes you, I think I've seen enough tomorrows for one lifetime." Lara spat back.

Karel nodded towards the door and the guard waiting nearby. The man grabbed Lara's arm, leading her away as she glared fiercely over her shoulder until he was out of sight. They reached an intersecting path and a new guard took Lara's arm.

"You should take it, you know." the man said nonchalantly. "His offer. I overheard your conversation and I know what he's got planned for you and your friends."

"My friends?" Lara asked.

The guard, an Englishman only slightly taller than Lara with brown hair flecked with gray around the temples, replied, "Your butler, the bloke with the computers, and the little girl. Not to mention Dr. West."

"What?" she responded quickly, yet quietly as not to draw attention to her informant. "Where are they?"

"I'm not sure, to be honest. All I know is that Trent guy has got quite the history. You know he used to work for Gunderson? I worked alongside him. Weird bloke, damn good mercenary. One of the few that always seemed like it didn't bother him, what we do. Highest kill count in my unit. A girl in every port, too." he told her.

Lara tried her best to appear calm but underneath she was seething. _That bastard has my friends and he's going to pay for every scratch he puts on them._

_

* * *

Kurtis stopped trying to tug at his restraints as the door opened and Lara was forced back inside. _

"Kurtis!" she exclaimed. "They've got Alex!"

"You're sure he's not on their side?" he replied, a bit annoyed.

Lara stared back at him, a pleading look in her eyes. "Please, we have to try and get him out of here."

"You love him," Kurtis stated, looking at the floor. "Don't you?"

She nodded, a tear staining her cheek. "Yes. I always have, I always will. Please, will you help me?"

He nodded, resignedly and the door opened once more and Marten Gunderson yanked him to his feet.

"Hello, Mr. Trent."


	13. Moment of Truth

**Disclaimer: The usual. I don't own TR, Lara, Kurtis, Karel or anyone else involved in this fic.**

**A/N: 2 months since an update, je sais. I've been brainstorming it since before I posted Ch. 12 but I couldn't bring myself to write much. I wrote a particularly nasty death scene for it but decided against using it - this time ;) I kept the file open on my computer for the last 4 days straight and I finally got to writing last night and wrote a bunch this morning and voila! C'est fin! (but it's not the end yet, not quite). Enjoy! **

**L'Ange de Vrai**

**Chapter 13**

**Moment of Truth**

"You two have amassed quite the extensive armory over the last few days, Trent," Gunderson quipped, examining the strange combination of weapons. "You know, I never took you for a swordsman. I'm sure you look quite the fool wielding one."

Kurtis bit back the urge to retaliate; the fresh bruises on his body enough incentive to stay quiet. He sat, tied defenselessly to a metal pole in the middle of what he assumed was his former employer's temporary office. He watched as Gunderson examined the sword for a moment longer, before reaching out for a metal pipe. Gunderson swung around, putting all of his momentum to use as the cold metal lashed against Kurtis's side. He grimaced as he felt an already broken rib shift.

"You know damn well that I wouldn't take this shit from anyone but you, Marty," Kurtis told him, his voice almost carrying an air of amusement.

"Well you know that you deserve it for betraying us," Gunderson returned, lashing out at him once more. "But now I think I've had enough fun."

He glared intently at Kurtis's weapons as he tossed the pipe to the side with a clang. Gunderson ran his fingers across the hilt of the Lux Veritatis sword before he picked it up, twirling it around for a show of force. He smiled victoriously as the tip of the sword plunged through the warrior's chest. Kurtis stared at Gunderson in shock as he felt the metal tear through his organs, twisting cruelly as it was wrenched out.

Gunderson's eyes widened in shock and the sword fell to the floor with a loud clang as he began to understand what was happening. Kurtis was still alive, the hole in his torso shrunken to nothing but a scratch in a matter of seconds.

"You should be dead!" Gunderson managed to say as Kurtis' hands became free.

Kurtis stood and picked up the sword and his gun. He forced Gunderson into a corner and raised his pistol, cocking it.

"And if I _had_ died, I'd have been _very_ upset!" he seethed, changing his mind and slamming the butt of his Boron X into the man's temple.

He smiled as the large man slumped to the floor, unconscious. Kurtis strapped on his weapons, laid out a map of the fortress, and then paused to examine his torso. He slid his shirt up about halfway and looked at the area that the sword had pierced - even the scratch was gone now, although the blood soaked hole in his shirt remained.

"Well that's interesting," he mused as he swung on the pack he had filled with Lara's weapons and his armor and set off.

* * *

Lara's neck turned quickly as she heard a commotion in the hallway outside of her new cell. She moved her hand to her boot and removed the flat throwing knife from the heel - she would have to remind herself to thank Bryce later for that - and crept closer to the door, hiding in its shadow as it opened. The room was dark and she could see a man enter the room, his body laden with weapons. He froze where he was as the cold metal of the knife touched his Adam's apple.

"Don't move." she cautioned him as she loosened her choke hold and slid around to face him, the point of the knife still at his throat.

"Fine, I won't, but I'd like to know why you're so eager to kill me all of a sudden." Kurtis replied, his hands raised in surrender.

Her eyes narrowed furiously at him and she seethed, "You _have_ been lying to me! All along! And when I confronted you about it you lied again!"

A drop of blood began to roll down his neck.

"Anything else?" he asked in an irritated voice.

"Yes! I'm taking those," she motioned to her weapons with her free hand. "And I'm leaving you here. Because, for all I know, you're working for _them_!"

Lara reached out and took her guns from him, placing one in its holster and keeping the other trained on Kurtis' forehead.

"Mind telling me what I've lied about this time?" he asked, handing Lara her pack.

"Well you didn't lie, but you weren't exactly honest, were you? When you said you'd been working for Gunderson I'd expected to hear you'd been a gun runner, not a mercenary - not you," she replied, her aim never faltering.

His expression changed suddenly at this. _Is that a _smile_ on his face?_ Lara's blood boiled at the thought of him smiling about such a violent past, or for all she could tell, a violent _present_.

"I worked for him, yeah, but I was never particularly a merc. Well, I mean, I trained with them and everything, but I never took a real job like you'd expect to go on in that profession. They only called me in when things got messy - demons, ghosts, the spooky things, you know? I got the nickname Demon Hunter in the Legion and it followed me into The Agency." he explained.

"And I'm supposed to believe that, am I?" she replied.

He laughed. "Believe me or don't - you've got to make up your own mind about that. I'd like to know how I'm supposed to believe that after that ice show you put on the other day how you're suddenly in love with Alex West. What's that all about, Croft?"

"What?!" she shot back. "And when have you heard this?"

Kurtis raised an eyebrow at her. "Um, you told me? After you went to talk to Karel -"

His sentence was cut short as he heard voices at the end of the hallway.

"Come on, we've got to get out of here," Lara whispered, checking the corridor. "We're clear for now, it sounds like they're off to the right and left leads up from what I saw earlier."

He shook his head. "We might stand a better chance if we split up - it'll be easier to lose them if they do spot either of us." Kurtis removed the Key from his pack, "Take this, I'll keep the sword."

"Good thinking," Lara replied with a nod as she took the stone from him. "See you on the surface."

They made a left turn and split up at the first fork in the path a few meters up, Lara taking the left, Kurtis taking the right split. _I hope he knows what he's doing_, she thought, second-guessing the decision to split up. She clenched the stone in her fist, watching as the light faded from it as she drew farther and farther from Kurtis. Lara snapped to attention as she heard the crackle of a guard's walkie-talkie. She threw her body silently against the hewn wall, finding a small gap in the stone and sliding in.

"I want to know why he's so worried about some hot archaeologist anyway," she overheard one of them say to another as she saw two men march up the corridor adjacent to the recess she hid in. "What has she got to do with this anyway ? She's not even a Lux Veritatis."

"Karel wants her in custody, preferably alive. I'm not going to argue, are you?" the other replied.

_Lackeys, _Lara told herself, rolling her eyes. She waited until they were out of view before stepping out and back into the full passage. The path split again, where the two men had come from. Lara looked to the left and saw a man standing alone, his back to her a little ways ahead - she went right.

* * *

Kurtis crouched in the shadow of a large truck, out of view of the men at the gate of the complex, eyes fixed on the entrance to the tunnels he'd just escaped. _We shouldn't have split up,_ he thought, chastising himself for suggesting it. He checked behind him once to make sure he was clear before stretching his arms out in front of his body, palms towards the sky. His eyes clenched shut in focus before snapping open, only the whites visible.

The scarlet effigy of Kurtis shot forward, gliding at the pace of a remarkably fast run back into the entrance following the path that Lara had taken. He passed two men who seemed keener on when they'd be allowed up for fresh air than in finding their escaped prisoners, ran down a long hallway and then stopped. There was a man to the left, nothing to the right. _Shit_, he thought violently, turning to the right. He followed the path as far as it went before he felt himself run into a mental wall.

"Shit!" he muttered aloud, grabbing his newly acquired Kalashnikov and making his way back into the underground fortress.

* * *

"Find the right way yet?" Kurtis asked, appearing suddenly from the shadows.

"Does it look like I have?" Lara spat back. "And what about you?"

He laughed, lighting a cigarette. "I've already been out and back. He knows where you are - You're lucky I got to you first. Toss me the Key, would'ya?"

Lara's eyebrows narrowed at him. "No."

"Come on, what's your problem all of a sudden? Give me the Key," Kurtis replied, his tone light.

"No!" she said more forcefully, shoving into a pouch on her belt.

Kurtis closed the distance between them and lashed out at her, catching her off guard, his blow to her shoulder sending her flying backwards. Lara jumped back up to her feet and anticipated his next move. He sent a booted foot flying at her head and she ducked, rolling past him.

"This doesn't have to happen like this, ya know," he told her, his head still reeling from the punch she'd just delivered to his jaw. "You really are a nice girl; I'd hate to have to kill you, too."

"Piss off." Lara returned, drawing her pistols.

She fired off as many bullets as she could, and from the looks of it, hit her target every time. Lara grinned as he knelt to the floor, blood spilling slowly from each wound. She holstered the weapons and knelt down beside him, checking his pulse. Before she had a chance to react, Kurtis's hand flew up and closed around her throat. He stood up quicker than she could have imagined and lifted her up by the neck. Lara clawed at his hands, gasping and struggling for air, but he just gained a steady momentum and slammed her into the wall, a large piece of rock digging into her back and tearing through the skin.

"Ah!" she exclaimed, her face contorted in pain as she fell to the ground.

Kurtis laughed shortly again before kicking her in the abdomen and watching victoriously as she tumbled across the floor, blood trickling down the corner of her mouth. She pushed herself up onto her knees and let out a pained grunt as he kicked her again.

"Hand it over!" he demanded, watching her struggle to get back up.

Lara was on her knees, clutching the Key in her bruised and bloodied fist once more when suddenly it began to emit the glow again.

"No," she said, her bloody lips curling into a defiant smile.

She heard the hammer click on the revolver that was now aimed directly at her forehead. Lara stared at the man, her eyes narrowed in malice as he smiled before pulling the trigger. The gun went off just split seconds after a cacophony of automatic weapons fire sounded in the small, dead end room. The bullet from the .38 lodged itself in the ceiling and the bullets from the AK-47 turned the American back into the monster that lay beneath. Karel.

"Thanks for that," Lara muttered as she got to her feet with the assistance of the real Kurtis Trent.

"Let's go, can you walk?" he asked.

"I'm fine."

Kurtis led the way, somewhat propping up the battered tomb raider as they made their way out of the tunnels. Lara was somewhat oblivious to the happenings around her and she could feel herself fading into unconsciousness. Kurtis had noticed this too, as he had grabbed her legs and swung her up into his arms, his Chirugai now clearing a path for them.

"We're almost there. Hang on, ok?" Kurtis said, his voice clear but concerned.

Lara nodded that she'd heard him before her arms went slack around his neck and her head fell against his chest. He carried her out into the dusty sunlight and ran straight for the truck he'd been using as a hiding place earlier and took out the man standing nearest it. He opened the passenger side door and slide Lara onto the seat, slamming the door shut and running around to jump into the driver's seat. The keys were nowhere to be found. _Aw hell_, he thought, reaching out to start the ignition mentally.

The truck roared to life and he put it in gear, slamming the gas pedal to the floor and crashing through the gate as bullets peppered the tailgate.

"I'm taking you to the hospital," Kurtis told the barely conscious and profusely bleeding Lara. "You've probably got some broken ribs from that, if not internal bleeding."

Lara shook her head weakly. "No, no time for that. We need to find," she paused. "To find what he's looking for there."

* * *

"Where am I?" Lara asked, her voice just below a whisper. No one answered. "Where am I?" she repeated, louder this time.

A man appeared over her, smiling. His face was familiar but Lara was too foggy to connect the image to whoever he reminded her of.

"We were wondering when you were going to wake up," he said, his voice just as familiar but as unrecognizable as his face. "You're in rough shape."

Lara blinked her eyes a few times and made an effort to sit up a bit more. "Alex?"

He nodded. "Kurtis tracked me down after you were admitted here. He said you had to find me?"

She touched a bandaged hand to her throbbing head and sat up properly. "Yes, well, no. I knew you were safe. Karel told me that he had you, Hillary, Bryce, and Derya and was holding you all captive. Well, Karel disguised as a mercenary, actually. I figured that out whilst I was in my cell. I could tell he'd been bluffing to try and get me to do something stupid. My guess is that Karel then disguised himself as me and went to see Kurtis, because they never brought me back to the cell where they'd been holding us both. Where is he, by the way?"

Alex smiled at her. "He's getting stitched up, himself. He said Gunderson got him back for his desertion with a metal pipe."

"His shirt was bloody but I was so furious that he could have been on their side that I didn't even care enough to ask." Lara told him, shaking her head. "I wish all of this could be over. He wants me for something and I'd like to know what. He keeps trying to get me to join him. I've turned him down every time, of course - I can't be swayed _that_ easily."

"That's good. It shows you're still human," he returned with a grin.

The door of the room swung open and Kurtis entered, shutting it behind him. "You're awake," he said, smiling.

"I'm going to go talk to the nurse - see if we can't get you out of here before he finds out you're here, Lara." Alex told them, exiting the room.

Kurtis's smile didn't fade as he sat down on the edge of her bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Still sore but alive, thanks to you. And you? Are you all right? Alex told me about Gunderson," she asked.

"I'm fine. A broken rib and some cuts and bruises, but I'm fine." he replied, kissing her on the forehead.

Lara closed her eyes. "There was so much blood on your shirt and all I could do was stand there and point a knife at your throat."

"The interesting thing about that - I got stabbed. Again. Gunderson ran me through with the Lux Veritatis sword. I thought I was dead, but as soon as he pulled it out, the wound healed. I could have killed him after that but I knocked him out and tied him up." Kurtis told her, feeling guilty that he'd not killed him while he had the chance.

"Don't be upset you left him," Lara reached out for his hand and took it in one of hers, squeezing slightly. "That proves you're not what Karel told me you were. I'm sorry I've accused you of lying so many times. We all have secrets, I should learn to respect that."

Kurtis shook his head at this. "No, it's not all right. I should have just been honest with you from the start. I did come asking for your help, didn't I? I dragged you into this mess, I should have given you all of the information before you agreed to help."

"Yes, you should have,." Lara replied, looking up as Alex opened the door again.

He smiled. "The nurse says your injuries weren't bad and if you're feeling better it's fine to leave."

"Well then," Lara replied with a mischievous grin. "what are we waiting for?"


	14. Unlocking the Key

_**Authors Note: Can you believe I haven't updated this fic since 2007??! It's been a crazy (almost) 2 years. I'm now a United States Sailor and I'm in school for the next year (if anyone speaks Russian, drop me a note and I'll see if I can't figure out what it says :) ). I'm happily married now and living CA and finally finding some time and inspiration for writing. Yay!! One more chapter, guys. One more. Thank you so much to everyone who's stuck around waiting for this one. It means the world to me and I love to get those little notes saying "when will the next one be up?!" lol. Well, here you go, thanks for your patience 3 L'Ange**_

_**Chapter 14**_

_**Unlocking the Key**_

_Kurtis's eyes flew open and he remembered at once where he was. He looked around the dusty library of the small hotel they'd found and saw Lara sitting in the corner of the room, her nose in a book. Her eyes darted back and forth along the pages until she slammed it shut and reached for the next book. _

"_Are you going to stare at me all night or are you going to pick up a book and help me?" she said, bringing him back to reality. _

_He grabbed the book he had been reading before dozing off and picked up at the same page, only to throw it down in frustration a minute later. _

_He reached down on the floor next to him and grabbed his pack and pulled out the armor given to him by his ancestor. On the back, in a thin, spiraling font, was an inscription. _

"_From what it says here, I'm willing to bet that the area that Karel is digging in was the Nephilim stronghold while they flourished. Besides that half breed scum, there's one original Nephilim left and __she_ is located in the tunnels under the Zelve Monastery's church." Kurtis translated loosely as he read. "She can be freed or destroyed with the sword and the key, but to destroy her innocent blood must be spilt."

"The church is the Direkli Church. It's at the foot of the Monastery. I've been there before, there's nothing inside that would lead us down to where we might find a Nephilim, but there's an Aqueduct nearby and something tells me that it might take us where we need to go." Lara said with a small smile on her lips.

"Here you go, Lara, two Aqualungs, two wetsuits." Alex said as he handed over the gear. "Care to tell me what you've figured out?"

She smiled. "No. Not until this is over. I don't need you following us looking for trinkets."

"Thanks," Kurtis told him offering his hand. "For everything. I'm not sure we could have made it this far without your help, Alex."

Alex nodded and shook his hand. "My pleasure. See ya around."

Lara and Kurtis zipped up their wetsuits and strapped on the breathing apparatus and looked out over the clear blue water. Savoring the last moment of sunshine before their ascent into the abyss, Lara smiled and leapt into the water in a swan dive, Kurtis following by jumping with his arms and legs pin straight.

They swam along the channel for a while before reaching a large circular opening, blocked by a large stone disk with a small circular cut out. Lara pointed out a large pole lying on the bottom and swam down, lifting one end. Kurtis followed suit and grabbed the other and helped her guide it into the hole. Lara braced her boots against the wall and pushed with all her strength until the obstacle slid just enough for them to swim in.

_Here's to hoping there's another way out from in here, _Lara mused. _Those doors are meant to lock people out, but that one locked us _in.

Lara swam ahead and found where the tunnel opened up into a vast cavern. Kurtis surfaced next to her as she pulled off her mask, gazing around the cavern in awe. This was easily the most amazing architecture that Lara had ever seen in the region. Seeing the temples carved into the walls of the stone reminded her of the carved out temples in the valley of Petra, Jordan.

A faint blue glow emanated from one of the doorways, roughly ten stories above them that had no stairs. "I guess we climb." Kurtis said unzipping his wetsuit and shaking the water from the hair that hung in front of his face.

Before either of them could start their ascent, they heard the sweeping of wind and a winged beast flew down from the alcove above, talons aimed like daggers. Lara grunted as she rolled to the side, the creature tearing a gash in her wetsuit. Blood ran down her arm as her dual pistols took aim and fired a series of lethal rounds into it's flesh.

"You ok?" Kurtis asked surveying her wounds.

"Fine. It's none too serious, I'll worry about it later." she replied wiping away the blood with her fingertips. "What was that thing?"

He shook his head. "No clue. I've never seen anything like it before. Closest guess I'd take would be Griffin."

"Griffin? Really, now." Lara thought aloud as they began to explore the cavern. "We need to find Karel if he's here and kill him. If not, we need to find out what to do before he does. We can't let him win. We'll split up. I'll climb up this way and you take the left side. If there's something here worth discovering, we'll find it. Let's go."

Lara began scaling the wall to the right exploring alcove after alcove. She was three flights up when she first found something. There, in the center of the chamber on a stone dais was an ornately carved marble sarcophagus, the lid slightly ajar. She approached it with caution, gazing down at what was certainly the corpse of one of Kurtis' long dead ancestors.

And it was there, on the wall behind the sarcophagus that Lara saw it: a cut out the precise size of the emerald and sword. That was it - the lock they'd been seeking. Lara ran to back to the cavern and shouted for her companion.

"Kurtis!" she called, her voice echoing through the stone. "I've found it!"

He poked his head out and clambered down the wall in a flash, running full tilt towards her. Kurtis emerged inside the burial chamber in a moment and ran his hands along the stone cut outs.

"I don't know, Lara. What if it's not meant to be unlocked? What if Karel is playing us and that unlocking this secret will give him even more power than he's already got."

"I'm not sure. What does your gut tell you?" she asked.

He nodded. "I need to do it. We've fought for centuries to end this Shadow War with the Cabal and with Karel. This is my destiny. I'll do it."

Lara placed the emerald into the depression in the wall and watched as Kurtis placed the sword over it. Suddenly the sword sank into the stone and the wall sank back into itself in a circular shape, rotating until the sword pointed to two o'clock. The sword released itself from the wall, hovering in mid air for a moment until Kurtis wrapped his hand around the hilt.

"It's pointing the way," he told her. "I can feel a pull. Let's go."

Kurtis headed in the direction the sword pulled him towards, which was, in fact, a stone wall. "Get the emerald," he told her. "I have a feeling we're going to need it for this one, too."

Lara pulled at the stone but it held fast. "Maybe you have to use your Jedi powers on it, Mr. Force Master."

So he tried for a moment, concentrating all of his energy onto moving the heavy stone wall until it began to slide out of the way leaving behind a curtain of dust in the air. A stone staircase lay beyond, spiraling it's way up to the height of the carved structure. They marched on and on up the stairs in a faint green glow until they came out into a much larger room than the burial chamber. There, in what looked like green amber was entombed one of the oldest and most honored Lux Veritatis knights. There were strange angular, almost tribal patterns carved into the dark stone of the room. In the center of the room was a large circle with smaller concentric circles carved around it, all lined with a kind of metal it appeared.

"Oh how I knew you'd bring me here," a cold voice drawled. "Thank you, Lady Croft, for bringing me to the room where you shall draw your last breath. I'd be honored to be a spectator, I just wish I'd be able to spill your blood myself."

Lara glared at the man before her who must have been only a few minutes behind them coming up the spiral staircase. "Oh really, and why is that?"

"Surely you've seen the prophecy, milady. You will die today, at his -" he pointed at Kurtis who held the sword pointed in Karel's direction - "hands. You see, he wants to save the world, avenge his family and his people and all that. I want power. To avenge them he must kill us both, but I can assure you that it will not happen this way. You will both die today, yes. Your blood will dampen this very floor and set the future in motion."

"You have to do it, Kurtis." Lara told him. "I'd fight, but what's the point? He's right, I die today. But if my dying at your hands stops this bastard from hurting the world any more than it already is, I'd die a hundred times over to make sure he dies."

Kurtis shook his head. "No, this isn't going to end like this. It doesn't have to, there's another way I know there is."

Lara reached out to where a sword similar in style to Kurtis' was fixed on the wall amongst 12 others. She pulled it off the wall and angled it towards the Lux Veritatis, knowing that the only way she could possibly get him to fulfill the prophecy would be to try and kill him. Lara lunged at him as he brought his sword up to parry. Their blades clashed as Karel smiled on.

"You have to do this," she hissed through gritted teeth as she fought his blade towards him. "this is the way it has to be, but everything will be ok. Trust me. Please, just do it."

She broke the lock and slashed at him some more, feigning a fight for her life as Kurtis began to charge at her, grunting loudly as he brought his sword down onto hers. He drew back and then lunged forward once more, the blade stabbing straight through Lara's abdomen and through her back.

"No," he breathed as he pulled the sword back out. "No, what have I done?"

Joachim Karel laughed cruelly behind him. "Thank you for your sacrifice, Trent, now hand me the sword."

"No." he spat back. "No, that's not going to happen." Kurtis threw himself at Karel, bringing the sword down towards the half-Nephilim.

Karel had anticipated the move and reached out telekinetically to throw Kurtis across the room, smashing into the stone wall and crumpling to the floor. Kurtis was enraged at the loss of Lara, who lay in the center of the floor, her blood seeping into the cracks and running towards the doorway and the staircase. A single droplet fell off of the edge of the floor and down the stairs as he watched in sorrow. And then something caught his eye as he clambered back to his feet. There, standing in the doorway were what must have been hundreds of ancient Lux Veritatis warriors, the line of them extending all the way into the main chamber.

He couldn't believe his eyes. Was this a trick? No, it couldn't be. The prophecy had been fulfilled, then. Perhaps this all a trick on the Nephilim? Lead him to this place, tempt him to see Lara Croft die to bring the last of the Nephilim back from the brink of the Underworld, and then ambush him with the warriors awakened by her sacrifice. _Oh what a clever line I come from, _Kurtis mused as each of the first five warriors pulled out thin blades that shimmered silver. Periapt shards. No, not the same ones he'd been in possession of, but perhaps fragments of them held by each of these elders for just such an occasion.

"No," Karel breathed, backing away and blasting the warriors with a telekinetic wave. They stood their ground.

The elders closed in around him until he found himself surrounded. They raised the shards and brought them crashing down as he snarled and hissed, light pouring out from his every pore until Joachim Karel ceased to exist.

There was a blast and the ceiling began to crack above Kurtis. One of his ancestor motioned for him to flee, but he couldn't leave her here. Not like this, her cold bloody corpse lying on the floor of an ancient tomb. Or perhaps that's how she'd rather be left. There was, after all, no one left to bury her but Kurtis.

"Go," a familiar voice spoke as the cavern shook again. "Go son, I'll take care of her."

It was Konstantin. "There's so much I need to say to you, Dad," Kurtis said as a boulder came crashing down behind him.

"I know, son. I know. Not now, just go."

And with those words Kurtis turned and ran and never once looked back.


	15. Epilogue: Everything's Not Lost

-Epilogue-

Everything's Not Lost

Kurtis Trent emerged to a hazy sun. He wasn't sure that he'd known the way out of the tomb, but his legs had seemed to guide him out of harm's way. He pulled himself out of the water, gasping for breath. He sat there in the sand for a moment, the sword beside him on the shore. It glistened in the light and Kurtis could see the clumps of mud forming from the sand, water, and blood. Lara's blood.

It was colder than Kurtis had remembered it when they'd first jumped into the water. He was shaking from the cold. He looked up and was astonished - was that _snow_? In the desert?

He waited there by the water as long as he could bare, until he felt the onset of hypothermia. Kurtis ran a dirty hand through his damp, tangled locks and got up, sword in hand. Family heirloom it may be, but Kurtis took it with both hands and with all of his might, stabbed it into the sand and into the dirt below that until almost only the hilt was visible and walked away.

* * *

Cold air touched her face as her bloody fingers reached out for the earth. There was a force below her pushing her up to the surface. Snow flecked her hair as she finally collapsed onto the sand. Harsh winds were blowing now and the snow was heavy. Lara wrapped her arms around herself, shivering, and headed off in the direction of town.

She was in survival mode now. She'd lost a lot of blood, but she was alive. Konstantin had placed his hand over the wound while she lay there, eyes glossy, skin cold, and had done something to bring her back to this world. He had told her, "It's not your time, Lara Croft." He had said that anyone so willing to sacrifice themselves for the good of the world deserved another chance at life, and that was what she was setting out to do.

As long as she could help it, no more killing. No more raiding of tombs, only investigating. This was a new chance for a new life and she was not going to take it for granted. Lara Croft walked through the desert, braid whipping around violently in the wind, looking out on a new future. A new life. A new Lara.

The End.

**CLOSING NOTES: Thanks so much to everyone who's read and reviewed this fic over the last 5 years!!!! I can't believe I've spent that much of my life on one fic and that all of you, at one point or another, have actually read and (hopefully) enjoyed it!! It means a lot :) Sorry the epilogue was so short and that there have been so many breaks throughout the fic and that I kept you guys hanging for so long, but life is crazy! I was in high school when I started writing this. It's carried me through my first job, first real boyfriend, other boyfriends that sucked just as equally as the first, college (what little of it I completed!), getting married, joining the Navy, and leaving home. It's crazy how much I've grown as a person since I've started this fic but it's always been a great way to connect with the real me. The nerdy me that played Tomb Raider on a daily basis even though I've beaten them all countless times ;) Thanks again, and, you didn't hear this from me, but keep your eyes out on the horizon for a sequel ;) Fair winds and following seas, guys. :)**

Toni/L'ange


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